Michel Sebastiani

Michel Sebastiani (born November 1937) is a French fencing master. He earned his Maîtrise d'Escrime degree from Ecole Superieure d’Escrime in Paris. Sebastiani then coached fencing at Cornell University, New York University, Brooklyn College, and Princeton University. He was an Olympic coach for Team USA. He twice won the U.S. Fencing Coaches Association's Schreff Award, given yearly to the most outstanding college fencing coach of the year. Sebastiani was inducted into the U.S. Fencing Hall of Fame in 2015.

Early years Sebastiani is a native of France. He grew up as a young boy in Algeria in the 1940s.

He earned two master's degrees from the French National Institute of Sports (INSEP), a training institute and center for excellence in sports that trains elite athletes, in Paris, France. In 1957, Sebastiani earned a Master of Science degree in Health, Physical Education, and Sports from INSEP. He also graduated from the Ecole Superieure d’Escrime of INSEP, France's top fencing school, where he also earned his Maîtrise d'Escrime M.A. Fencing Master degree.

He joined the French Special Forces, and was part of a military coup meant to restore Pieds-Noirs to Algeria.

Cornell University In 1963, Sebastiani came to the United States as assistant men’s fencing coach and as head coach of the women’s fencing team at Cornell University. Coached by Sebastiani, the women's team won the National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association (NIWFA) National Championship in 1967, 1968, and 1969. In addition, one of his Cornell fencers also won the NIWFA individual title in 1968, and another won the NCAA men’s épée title in 1968.

New York University Sebastiani next coached fencing at New York University in 1970–71. Among his fencers on the team was Ruth White. As Sebastiani confidently predicted she would to The New York Times, White went on to compete for Team USA at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Brooklyn College At Brooklyn College from 1971–77, Sebastiani was the head fencing coach of the men’s fencing team, as well as an assistant professor of Health and Physical Education at the School of Sciences. Among his fencers was Matt Israel, whom he coached to the semi-finals of the 1973 Junior World Fencing Championships.

During this time he also served on the coaching staff for the United States Team at the World Fencing Championships in Buenos Aires, at which two of his Brooklyn College fencers competed.

Texas

In 1978, Sebastiani founded and headed the Sebastiani Fencing Academy in Houston, Texas, the top fencing academy in the country. The men were 213–89 and the women were 141–88 during that time. With that, Sebastiani became the first fencing coach to win the title at three universities, having previously won it at both Cornell University and New York University. Another of his fencers was Maya Lawrence, who won a bronze medal in team épée at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and was a national champion. Thirty-six of his male fencers and 25 of his female fencers won All-America honors while fencing for him.