Iosif Vitebsky

Ukrainian épée fencer Iosif Vitebsky represented the Soviet Union before moving to the United States to become a coach. Vitebsky won almost 20 medals at the national championships and represented the Soviet team from 1963 until 1968. With multiple wins in tournaments across Europe, he was part of the Soviet squad that won gold in the team event at the 1967 World Fencing Championships in Montréal. This earned him a place on the Olympic team for the Mexico City Games where he won silver in the same event. Vitebsky then coached the Ukrainian national team for more than a decade before working at the State University of Ukraine. In 1998 he moved to the United States where he coached at the Pennsylvania State University. One year later he won gold as a veteran at the Summer Fencing Championships in Charlotte, North Carolina.