Student success stories: gabriel “The Legend” Mccarthy

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Gabriel “The Legend” McCarthy

A Story of Perseverance, Adaptation, and Belief

The best success stories are almost never the obvious ones. They’re the underdogs. The athletes who overcome challenges no one else can see—and sometimes challenges everyone can see.

Gabriel was one of the very first students to walk through the doors when we opened TMFC in 2016. When I say “walked,” I mean he actually hobbled.

He was nine years old and had significant issues with his legs. He couldn’t properly bend his knees. Walking was painful. Lunging—one of the most basic movements in fencing—was something he simply could not do. His mom explained his medical challenges, the pain, and the work ahead.

Despite all of that, Gabriel fell in love with fencing.

He spent more time at the club than almost anyone. His passion for the sport pushed him to work tirelessly—not just in training, but in rehab and physical therapy—just to move better, let alone compete. During practice, he couldn’t bend his knees for balance. He couldn’t lunge to attack. But we trained him the same way we trained everyone else.

No one at the club thought Gabriel was going to be a medal winner.

And honestly, even if the story stopped there, he would still have been unforgettable. He made us laugh almost every day. He fought hard in every bout. Losses hurt him deeply. But instead of quitting, he adapted.

Because he couldn’t lunge, Gabriel learned to solve fencing differently. He discovered distance. He learned to bait opponents into attacking. Saber actions that usually last one or two seconds sometimes stretched into what felt like an eternity—20 seconds of careful footwork, inches and centimeters of space. When opponents attacked, he relied on timing, hand defense, and will. He blocked. He survived. He countered.

Then something unexpected happened.

In his second year with us, Gabriel went to a national Super Youth Circuit event and came home with a medal. I remember thinking it must have been luck. A miracle.

Except the “miracle” kept happening.

Over time, Gabriel became the TMFC fencer with the most wins in our club’s history—over 1,000 victories. He spent 10 years with us. Through sheer force of will, he walked onto the strip at Columbia University. His mom cheering (and yelling) in French at every tournament. Gabriel screaming with joy after touches, his passion spilling out every time he fenced.

One moment still defines him for me.

Seven years later, we were fencing a Cadet international team event, one touch away from the medal rounds. Gabriel stepped on an ankle and went down hard. It swelled immediately. The trainers weren’t sure he could continue.

He looked at me and said, “I’ve got it.”

He could barely move. Ironically, that physical limitation—something he had lived with his whole fencing life—put him back in familiar territory. He stood up, adapted again, and scored the next five touches, carrying the team into the next round.

Gabriel was always at his best when there was a barricade in front of him.

That’s why he became Gabriel “The Legend” McCarthy—now fencing for Columbia University, a member of the Algerian Junior National Team, and still TMFC’s all-time wins leader.

But more than medals or results, Gabriel is a lesson—for me and for our entire staff.

You never know what’s inside a young athlete from first appearances.
You never know how someone will grow.
And belief, patience, and perseverance can take an athlete further than talent alone.

Gabriel kept faith with us. We kept faith with him.
And his journey is exactly what TMFC is about.

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