HOMER Daryl

General
MEMORABLE MENTOR
He has been inspired by US fencer Peter Westbrook ever since seeing him on a television commercial as a child, which led to him joining the Peter Westbrook Foundation in New York, NY, United States of America, at age 11. Westbrook became his mentor and years later, at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, he became the first US fencer to win an Olympic medal in the men's individual sabre since Westbrook, who had won the bronze medal in the same event at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. "Peter and I have a close personal relationship, but to also have our names etched in history next to each other is really humbling. I've probably read his book 'Harnessing Anger' hundreds of times throughout my life. [His achievement of] six Olympic teams and 13 national championships were always in the back of my mind. I may not beat those, but it's nice to know that there's something iconic and transcendental that bonds us together. I wouldn't have found an access point to fencing without Peter. So [without him], I probably wouldn't be here." (espn.co.uk, 11 Aug 2016; teamusa.org, 23 Jun 2020)

MOVE TO THE US
Born in the Virgin Islands, US, he moved to New York, NY, United States of America, at age five with his mother and his sister. (huffingtonpost.com, 15 Apr 2015; vogue.com, 09 Aug 2016)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
He served as an Athlete Role Model at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He also visits fencing clubs and schools to discuss his experiences in fencing. In 2017 he visited Senegal to teach fencing to prisoners and orphans. "I hope the youth in the programme are able to take away tangible skills from these experiences, and that continued exposure to the sport will lead to more opportunities. I've seen how 'play' and discipline can be connected seamlessly to help the youth in the real world." In 2019 he joined the University of Notre Dame's fencing coaching staff as a volunteer assistant. (cnn.com, 02 Mar 2017; shadeglobal.com, 02 Mar 2017; hackleyschool.org, 20 Jan 2017; fie.org, 09 Oct 2018; und.com, 21 Oct 2019)

He became the first US male sabre fencer to win a medal at the world championships, when he claimed silver at the 2015 edition in Moscow, Russian Federation. (SportsDeskOnline, 16 Mar 2016; theplayerstribune.com, 30 Sep 2015)