Sportspress Northwest offers another in a series of biographical sketches of athletes with significant ties to Washington at the Olympic Games.
No fencer with ties to Washington has won a medal in the Olympics. London will be the third Olympics for Seth Kelsey of Brush Prairie.
2012 FENCING OLYMPIAN
SETH KELSEY / Brush Prairie
BORN: Aug. 24, 1981, Santa Monica, CA. RESIDENCE: Colorado Springs, CO. SPORT: Fencing. EVENT: Epee. COUNTRY: USA. OLYMPICS (3rd): 2004, 2008, 2012. HOW QUALIFIED: Placed 32nd (280 in field) at the Paris Epee World Cup in March, 2012. STATE CONNECTION: Brush Prairie native.
Weston “Seth” Kelsey is one of Team USA’s most accomplished epee fencers. Now a three-time Olympian, Kelsey was a member of the first U.S. men’s epee team to earn a medal at a Senior World Championships — a silver at the 2010 Worlds in Paris.
A high school fencer for four years in Oregon, Kelsey continued the sport at the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he received the Athletic Achievement Award and was a three-time fencing MVP.
Kelsey is a 2nd lieutenant in the Air Force who competes as a part of the World Class Athlete Program.
OLYMPICS: Finished 19th (individual) and sixth (team) in 2004; placed 17th (individual) in 2008.
CAREER —2012: Won a gold medal at the Team World Championships. 2011: Won gold at the Pan American Games as both an individual and as part of the USA team; placed 10th in the Senior World Championships. 2010: Won gold at the Sydney World Cup; won a silver medal at the Montreal World Cup; won a silver medal (team) at the Senior World Championship. 2009: Won bronze medals (team and individual) at the Lignano World Cup. 2008: Made history March 28 by finishing third at the Heidenheim (Germany) Cup. The podium finish marked the first time that an American earned a medal at the prestigious European tournament. 2004: Won a bronze medal at the World Cup stop in Estonia. 2003: Won a bronze medal at a 2003 World Cup event in Havana. (2002): Won national individual championship in epee.
PERSONAL: Attended Oregon Episcopal School . . . Has a Bachelor’s degree in behavioral science from the Air Force Academy . . . Enjoys reading, cooking and sailing. . . Favorite movie is “The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” . . . Favorite TV show is “House”. . . Role model: Meriwether Lewis, because he journeyed to places unknown and came back to tell the world about them . . . Parents are Morton and Susan Kelsey, who reside in Brush Prairie, near Vancouver, WA . . . Has has one sister, Holly, who attended Western Washington University.
Olympic Qualifiers
Athletes with connections to the state who have qualified (or been selected) for the London Games.
| Athlete | Sport | Gms. # | Country | State Connection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan Adrian | Swimming | 2 | USA | Bremerton native |
| Scott Baynes | Basketball | 1 | Australia | WSU grad |
| Sue Bird | Basketball | 3 | USA | Seattle Storm guard |
| Kim Butler | Basketball | 1 | G. Britain | Bellarmine Prep |
| Dave Calder | Rowing | 4 | Canada | University of Washington |
| Will Crothers | Rowing | 1 | Canada | University of Washington |
| Tyler Farrar | Cycling | 1 | USA | Wenatchee native |
| Amanda Furrer | Shooting | 1 | USA | Mead High, Spokane |
| Scott Gault | Rowing | 2 | USA | University of Washington |
| Rob Gibson | Rowing | 1 | Canada | University of Washington |
| Lauren Jackson | Basketball | 4 | Australia | Seattle Storm forward |
| Anthony Jacob | Rowing | 1 | Canada | University of Washington |
| Ebba Jungmark | Track | 2 | Sweden | WSU Grad |
| Seth Kelsey | Fencing | 3 | Canada | Brush Prairie |
| Ariana Kukors | Swimming | 1 | USA | Auburn Mountainview |
| Meagan Kalmoe | Rowing | 2 | USA | University of Washington |
| Bernard Lagat | Track | 4 | USA | Washington State University |
| Giuseppe Lanzone | Rowing | 2 | USA | University of Washington |
| Amy LePeilbet | Soccer | 1 | USA | Spokane native |
| Adrienne Lyle | Equestrian | 1 | USA | University of Washington |
| Adrienne Martelli | Rowing | 1 | USA | University of Washington |
| Arielle Martin | Cycling | 1 | USA | Spanaway native |
| Conlin McCabe | Rowing | 1 | Canada | University of Washington |
| Tamari Miyashiro | Volleyball | 1 | USA | University of Washington |
| Haley Nemra | Track | 2 | Marshall Is. | Marys.-Pilchuck |
| Brett Newlin | Rowing | 2 | USA | University of Washington |
| Kara Patterson | Track | 2 | USA | Seattle native |
| Jennie Reed | Cycling | 3 | USA | Seattle native |
| Jarred Rome | Track | 2 | USA | Marys.Pilchuck High |
| Janine Sandell | Volleyball | 1 | Great Britain | University of Washington |
| Hope Solo | Soccer | 2 | USA | University of Washington |
| Travis Stevens | Judo | 2 | USA | Bellevue native |
| Courtney Thompson | Volleyball | 1 | USA | University of Washington |
| Aretha Thuyrmond | Track | 4 | USA | University of Washington |
| Queen Underwood | Boxing | 1 | USA | Seattle resident |
| Eric Uptagrafft | Shooting | 1 | USA | Spokane resident |
| Tejay van Garderen | Cycling | 1 | USA | Tacoma native |
| Brad Walker | Track | 2 | USA | University of Washington |
| Mary Whipple | Rowing | 3 | USA | University of Washington |