Tommi Hurme has 25+ years of competitive epee fencing experience including 4 years training in Budapest, Hungary alongside the Hungarian National Team. He is trained and coaches in the Hungarian fencing tradition and has worked under Dr. Paul Pesthy, Maitre Michel Sebastiani, Victor Svatenko, Dr. Aladar Kogler, Zoltan Dudas, and Ivan Kovacs. He is certified as a Maestro level coach from the US Fencing Coaches Association. Coach Tommi was also the designated coach for the USA Junior Men’s Epee Team during the 2025/26 international season where the team finished the season by winning the first world championships ever for USA. He continues this role into the 2026/27 season.
He brings his experience from competing at the local, national, collegiate, and international levels to help students gain an advantage in competitive epee fencing. His fencing achievements include:
Junior National Team member in 2005, Junior Olympics Bronze Medalist in 2003, Princeton Varsity Fencing Team Captain in 2007 and 2008, Div 1 Nationals top 8 finisher in 2007, 8th place finish at NCAA Championships 2008, Paris World Cup top 32 finisher in 2009, 1st place Kupittaa Satellite World Cup Turku, Finland in 2011, and 1st place Men’s Epee Team Nationals 2008 and 2010.
Tomás Mata – Epee Coach
Coach Tomás Mata has a background as a physical education teacher and has 25 years of experience as an epee coach. He began fencing competitively in 1997 and competed in his first junior world cup in 1998 at the University of Notre Dame. He was a member of the Mexican national fencing team for 10 years. As a coach Tomas trained and qualified fencers for the Mexican national team in different categories such as cadets, junior, and senior. Most notably he trained and qualified Alejandra Terán for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in Women’s Epee.
Claudine Barjak Cardenas – Adult Class Coach
Emily Bourdeau – Adult Class and Little Olympians Coach
Emily was taught by Hall of Fame Coach Maestro Aladar Kogler from 2012 until 2017. Emily earned the Bronze medal at the USA Modern Pentathlon Summer Nationals in 2014 and competed on the National Team in 2016.
Cameron Luong – Assistant Coach
Cameron started fencing with Olympian Fencing Club as a teenager. He is a recent graduate of Trinity University and has been coaching with OFC since 2024.
Gracyn Githens – Assistant Coach
Gracyn Githens began fencing at the age of 10, training under Coach Jerry Benson in Oklahoma City. She is currently an NCAA Division I fencer and the Women’s Team Captain at the University of the Incarnate Word, where she trains under Olympian Coach John Moreau. During her collegiate career, Gracyn has earned MPSF All-Academic Team honors (2025, 2026) and All-MPSF Second Team recognition (2025, 2026). Most recently, she placed 3rd at the 2026 MPSF Regional Championships. Gracyn has been coaching at Olympian Fencing Club since 2024.
Landen Tiemann – Assistant Coach
Landen Tiemann is an épée fencer and coach with international training experience in Hungary, Italy, and France, including training under Ivan Kovacs, Enrico Garozzo, and Diego Confalonieri. He currently trains under Coach Tommi Hurme and has coached fencers at major national events, including Summer Nationals and Junior Olympics.
June Hurme – Little Olympians Coach
Coach June Hurme started fencing in college at NYU when she met her husband, Risto Hurme, a Finnish Olympian in Modern Pentathlon and Fencing. Coach June has fenced recreationally for over 40 years and qualified for the veterans world championships in Sydney, Australia in 2007. Coach June recently won Silver Medal in Vet 70 Women’s Epee at the 2026 Summer National Championships. She has three children who all fenced at Princeton University.
Olympian Fencing Club is always looking for talented and professional epee coaches or administrative staff. Help us achieve our mission to build one of the strongest fencing clubs in the country. Send us an email at info@olympianfencingclub.com to apply today!
Jacqui Willingham – Assistant Coach
Jacqui is an assistant coach and current member of the University of the Incarnate Word varsity fencing team. Jacqui learned how to fence with Olympian Fencing Club and is now sharing that knowledge with Y10 fencers.
