Maximilien Van Haaster

Biography

Maximilien Van Haaster has always wanted to be a world-class athlete and represent Canada on the global stage. In 2011 he competed at both the junior and senior FIE World Championships. He ended his junior career in 2011-12 with a year-end world ranking of 37^th in men’s foil. In 2013, Van Haaster won his first individual medal, a bronze, at the Pan American Championships.

At the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, he finished fifth in both the men’s individual and team foil events. He would improve upon those results at the next Pan Am Games in 2019 in Lima, winning bronze in both the individual and team foil events. In his third Pan Am Games appearance at Santiago 2023, he won silver in men’s team foil.

Van Haaster made his Olympic debut at Rio 2016 and won his opening match. He also reached the Table of 32 in his second Olympic appearance at Tokyo 2020.

Van Haaster finished the 2017-18 season with a career high world ranking of 23^rd, bolstered by a silver medal at the Pan American Championships, and a career-best 16^th-place finish at the FIE World Championships. He won his third career individual medal at the Pan American Championships in 2022, taking another silver.

A Little More About Maximilien

Getting into the Sport: Started fencing at age 10 because he was a big fan of knights and castles growing up… Outside Interests: Attended McGill University for Kinesiology… Enjoys watching TV… Odds and Ends: Favourite motto: “Work hard, play hard”… Nickname: Chino… Doesn’t drink coffee because he thinks it tastes awful; prefers green tea…