Khalifah Alomairi Beat an Olympic Champion to Make Saudi History

For Khalifah Alomairi, a member of Saudi Arabia's national fencing team, a bronze medal in May's 2026 World Fencing Championship in Hong Kong has become something bigger than a podium finish.

His success in the Senior Men’s Individual Épée event has given Saudi Arabia its first-ever World Championship medal in the sport – only the second World Championship fencing medal won by an Arab country, after Egypt.

The road to the podium was anything but straightforward, however.

Ranked 160th in the world at the time, Alomairi overcame opponents from Luxembourg, South Korea and Italy, before facing Japan's Koki Kano in the quarter-finals.

Kano, the Paris 2024 Olympic champion and a three-time Olympic medallist, was expected to bring the drean run to an end.

Alomairi beat him 15-12.

And while he would eventually fall to Switzerland's Lucas Malcotti in the semi-finals, Alomairi had already secured a place in Saudi sporting history.

Not Every Success Story Starts With a Plan

Fencing was never part of some grand plan. Alomairi found the sport almost by accident.

“Back in 2011, a friend saw me writing with my left hand and convinced me to sign up for fencing,” Alomairi told SceneSports.

Being left-handed, it turned out, was an unexpected advantage in a sport where opponents rarely come up against a fencer like him. “From the first day, Coach Hossam liked my speed and gave me five Riyals,” he recalls.

Those first days were a long way from the polished performances that would eventually take Alomairi to the world stage. He was still getting to grips with the basics and finding his footing in a sport that was entirely new to him.

“I was learning the movements, and everyone was laughing at me, " he explains. "But the coach told me, ‘You have to come every day. You’re going to become a champion, and one day you’ll be better than everyone who is laughing at you.’”

'Coach Hossam' has remained by his side ever since, from those first sessions all the way to Hong Kong. Alomairi describes him as a father figure and credits him with playing a defining role in the career that would ultimately take him to the World Championship podium.

Some of the Hardest Battles Happen Away From the Piste

The World Championship bronze is Alomairi’s third major medal in the space of a year, following silver at the Gulf Games and bronze at the Islamic Solidarity Games.

But the run of success came after a period when he seriously considered walking away from the sport. Three consecutive defeats at the Saudi Games had left him questioning whether fencing still had a future for him.

“I became depressed,” he says. “At the World Championships, I was constantly thinking about the competition and the result, worrying that I wouldn’t perform at the level I needed to.”

What kept him going, he says, was determination and perseverance.

In Hong Kong, those qualities would prove more valuable than ever, as the pressure of the world stage threatened to overshadow the opportunity in front of him.

The Medal, His Family and a Shared Sense of Arab Pride

“There are no words to describe the feeling of raising your country’s flag,” he tells SceneSports, with the moment carrying particular weight after beating Kano in what he considers the toughest match of his career - a victory that meant far more than the result itself, and not only for Saudi Arabia.

“We Arabs are one,” he says. “I saw that during the championship. All the Arabs were with me, supporting me and wishing me well.”

That support is part of what Alomairi hopes to carry forward, particularly for young Saudis who may now see a path in fencing.

“I hope every Saudi knows that nothing is impossible. Everything can be achieved with hard work and patience, and one day your dream will come true.”

Some of the most meaningful moments, however, came after the competition was over. Alomairi remembers calling his family after the quarter-final and hearing the pride in their voices. His parents and his wife had witnessed every stage of the journey – the setbacks, the sacrifices and the years of work that led to this breakthrough.

“They’re the people who know best how hard I work for my dreams,” he said.

Now, with three major medals in a single year and a World Championship bronze to his name, Alomairi already has his sights set on what comes next. As Saudi Arabia looks towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, the country’s newest fencing hero wants to turn this breakthrough into something even bigger: Saudi Arabia’s first Olympic medal in fencing.