Benjamin Bratton (born in Queens, New York) is a three-time fencing all-American and a former member of the United States fencing team. As a national team member, he competed in the 2006 World Fencing Championships in Turin, Italy; 2009 World Fencing Championships in Antalya, Turkey, 2010 World Fencing Championships in Paris, and the 2012 World Fencing Championships in Kyiv. Biography Bratton was born in Queens, New York and is the oldest child of Deborah Hanson and Dwight Bratton. With both parents constantly working to support Benjamin and his two sisters, a young Bratton was often pushed by his mother into sports, hoping to keep him away from the trouble and distractions of an inner city neighborhood. As coworkers, Deborah became acquainted with American Saber Champion and 1984 Olympic Bronze medalist Peter Westbrook. Having recently created the Peter Westbrook Foundation, Westbrook invited Benjamin to participate in his Saturday Fencing Program to be taught by himself and other fencing Olympians. Benjamin gravitated to the sport almost instantly. "I was immediately intoxicated by the sport and was amazed by the way fencers moved and looked on the strip. It was an incredible experience to be taught by people who went to the Olympic Games. At that time, a goal like that wasn't even fathomable for me. I just mimicked the teachers I would see fencing and I would practice footwork drills that they gave me in the basement of my house. Before time I was had become one of the strongest in my class." Fencing career Youth fencing Bratton was invited to join the PWF Elite Athlete Scholarship program. Under the tutelage of Dr. Aladar Kogler (then the U.S. National Men’s épée coach), Bratton was placed under a strict training regimen, including group and private classes, along with training camps around the globe with some of the best youth fencers in the world. In 2000, Bratton began training with Hungarian fencing coach, Kornel Udvarhelyi. Under Udvarhelyi, Bratton was able to harness his natural speed and strength and qualified for the first of his six Junior World Championship performances. Ranked as the number one American fencer under 17 and the number 3 fencer under 20, it was here that Bratton was able to make his first impact on the international stage when, at age 16, he would win the bronze medal at the event becoming one of the first Americans to do so in