A Bethesda, Maryland, college student is competing for a spot to fence with Team USA in the 2028 Olympics.
But Lev BenAvram hit a speed bump earlier this year.
The college student was heading to a fencing tournament in Tunisia when he said Air France lost his luggage, which had his sabers, his protective gear and the rest of his belongings inside.
鈥淚t really had a deeper impact than just losing a regular bag,鈥� BenAvram said. 鈥淲hen I get there to compete, I have to borrow stuff from friends and it really just isn鈥檛 the same 鈥� both from a standpoint of using not my own equipment, but also from the mental stress of having lost my stuff right before a tournament.鈥�
The gear alone cost around $2,700, not counting all the clothing lost on top of that.
BenAvram said that what happened then could provide a great lesson to keep in mind going forward.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really about perseverance, and one thing one of my coaches talked about after it happened was 鈥榗ontrol the controllables,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 control whether or not Air France loses my bag, but I can control how I respond to it as a person and as an athlete and I can control how I bounce back.鈥�
It took repeated demands and appeals to get compensated for everything that was lost. Eventually, BenAvram got about $2,000 back, which is the most an airline is mandated to compensate you for.
鈥淲hen I lost it I was very stressed about it and I think it effected my resolve in that tournament a lot,鈥� BenAvram said. 鈥淎nd I think it鈥檚 set me up for the future to much better deal with stressful situations in tournaments, on the way to tournaments, and all around.鈥�
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