[Memphis TN, 02/15/2010] Two days after his fantastic 29th place in the U20 age group of the U.S. Junior Olympic Championships in Memphis, Paul made the final of the top eight in the U17 event. At J.O.'s the top eight fencers are included in the medal ceremony and fence in the finals room in front of a fantastic audience. 

 Just qualifying for the Junior Olympics is not easy, so every participant can be expected to be among the best the U.S. has to offer in this age group. Paul delivered some of the best fencing of his life, as he won bout after bout till of the 222 participating fencers only 8 were left standing.

He eventually lost to the eventual silver medalist Gary North of Colorado, but Paul's 8th place catapults him up to rank 14 on the U.S. National Ranking. "Paul internalized a whole new way to approach to the game in every aspect. It was really tough, but he stuck with it, and broke through a couple of months ago and has never looked back. This result is a fantastic achievement that he can be very proud of" says his coach, Jens Stephan.