Rolling down the Seine River in the 2024 Olympics opening ceremonies and collecting swag made for a remarkable day, but didn’t sway the focus of Park Ridge’s Filip Dolegiewicz from the reason he was in Paris – to help his U.S. team snare a medal in fencing.
An alternate supplementing the primary three-man team, 2019 Maine South High School (and later Harvard University) grad Dolegiewicz enjoyed an “amazing” experience of rubbing shoulders with NBA stars LeBron James and others while collecting almost a full new wardrobe in the Olympic Village as he prepared for potential calls to competition Saturday and Wednesday.
“The opening ceremony was one of the most incredible experiences in my life,” Dolegiewicz said in a phone interview from Paris. “The entire U.S. team was on its own big boat for several hours. I got to meet the NBA players. We got off the boat and went to a stage by the Eiffel Tower. The laser show on the tower was just insane.
“The Olympic Village is a crazy place. Walking around, you see the best athletes from each country. You never know who’ll you’ll meet. They give you a bag of Olympic pins. The athletes then walk around trading the pins. They lead you through four different stations, where they give you a full suitcase of Nike and Ralph Lauren clothing.”
Before he could wield his trademark saber in fencing, Dolegiewicz, 24, realized all the hard work of traveling around the country and to Europe to compete in tournaments, then attending Harvard University without an athletic scholarship, had paid off. The meaning of being an Olympic athlete is not just a shot at medaling and worldwide fame.
“A lot of people think it’s a celebration of how far they’ve come in their sport,” he said. “It takes a lifetime of work. It’s a mix of talent and hard work, the ability to thrive in pressure situations.”
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Olympian status reflects discipline, dedication and sacrifice.
“Filip trained five days a week,” said mother Beata Dolegiewicz, heading the family delegation to watch her son. “He’s a person who hates to lose.”
Reaching Paris was truly a Dolegiewicz family effort. Father Mariusz Dolegiewicz was the role model, fencing since he was young and still competing on a senior circuit at 55. Older brother Marcel Dolegiewicz took up the family sport and was available for informal sparring sessions when his sibling took up the saber.
In 2014, Beata Dolegiewicz actually purchased what is now the Midwest Fencing Club, housed in the Polish National Alliance headquarters at 6100 N. Cicero Ave. in Chicago’s Sauganash neighborhood, when its head coach, a Bulgarian, had to return home. That assured Filip of a place to train during his athletically formative years since Maine South does not offer fencing as a sport, according to Brett Clark, Maine Township High School District 207’s spokesperson. He noted Maine East has a fencing club, however.
Beata Dolegiewicz recalled going to her husband’s native Poland along with France, Germany and Sochi, in Russia, for tournaments.
“You have to spend money to boost their careers,” she said.
Filip thought of playing football starting out. But his mother said he was born with just one kidney, making the hard contact of the sport especially dangerous.
In comparison, being jabbed at and whacked by three kinds of swords would seem even more dangerous. But athletes are protected by Kevlar-lined uniforms, chest protectors and masks.
“I’ve heard horror stories of the saber going through the leg or hand,” said Dolegiewicz. “But you’re more likely to pull a muscle when you’re lunging. If you get hit across the body with the saber, it can leave a mark.”
Different fencing weapons have different rules. The saber targets the opponent’s body above the waist. The entire body is fair game for the epee. The foil targets the torso. The winner of matches is the first to score 15 touches.
Technology has transformed fencing in its modern form that originated in France and Italy late in the 19th century. Electrical connections record touches. The saber’s entire length has conductivity since any part of the weapon can make contact with the opponent. But the human factor via referees still results in disputes. As in other sports, video replay using exacting digital images is used.
Strength and speed are essential for Dolegiewicz.
“The saber is the fastest weapon,” he said. “The others are finesse. Both fencers are charging at each other.”
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Dolegiewicz’s role for team competition scheduled for Wednesday was to be ready to be subbed in at a moment’s notice. He was the alternate in saber competition for two-time Olympian Eli Dershwitz, Colin Heathcock and Mitchell Saron.
“The Top 3 ranked in the U.S. compete individually,” said Dolegiewicz. “I was ranked No. 4. Each match is 45 minutes. You could go in there for any reason. It could be 30 minutes into the match and you must be ready to compete.”
Dolegiewicz further made a name for himself competing at Harvard, where the Ivy League hosts a number of top fencing programs. The catch was the Ivy League does not offer athletic scholarships. However, based on family income, financial aid is offered to the academic achievers who qualify for the nationally prestigious school in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Like his father, Dolegiewicz will probably always spar and coach. But income-producing opportunities in the sport are few and far between. So Filip, who majored in economics and minored in computer science, will try to leverage his Harvard degree to a career in finance, or possibly a start-up business.
No matter his eventual career destination, the sparring saber rattler will always have Paris, where he can look around to gape at “the nicest and most majestic arena I’ve ever been in.” And Dolegiewicz has seen a few in his young life.
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