Fencing. Pattonville doesn’t have a team. However, junior Mohamed Hassan is a world-class fencer.

“Fencing isn’t just poking people with a stick,” Hasan said. “It’s been around since the first Olympics and is one of the oldest Olympic sports.”

Starting under the coaching of his father, Hassan has fenced in places such as Mexico, Egypt, Germany, France, Poland and many others.

He is only 17 by the way.

“My dad was an Olympic coach for Egypt in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. I picked up the sport after watching his students fence,” Hassan said.

Even from the beginning, he knew he had a true talent.

“I was 7 when I started. I competed in my first small tournament when I was 8, and my first national one when I was 9 in the under-10 category,” Hassan said. “I placed 8^th out of approximately 160 people.”

But that isn’t even his greatest accomplishment.

“I placed 3^rd in nationals last year,” Hassan said.

He also has some interesting pre-match rituals.

“I always listen to music and wear a red bracelet that a friend gave to me in my first competition and use it as a good luck charm.”

With the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, he said it’s a long shot to make. However, he is optimistic about the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

“Probably not Rio in 2016,” Hassan said, “but Tokyo in 2020 is a huge possibility.”