Sergey Bida

Sergey Olegovich Bida (Сергей Олегович Бида; born 13 February 1993; nicknamed Bidon) is a Russian left-handed épée fencer.

At the April 2012 Junior World Championship in Moscow, he won a bronze medal in individual épée.

At the March 2013 Junior European Epee Championships in Torun, Poland, he won a silver medal in team épée.

At the June 2013 European Under-23 Championships in Budapest, Hungary, he won bronze medals in individual épée and team épée.

At the 2014 European Fencing Championships in Strasbourg, France, Bida won a bronze medal in team épée.

At the 2015 European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, he won a silver medal in team épée.

At the 2017 Summer Universiade in Tapei, Taiwan, Bida won gold medals in both individual épée and team épée.

At the 2017 European Fencing Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, in June, he won a gold medal in team épée.

At the 2018 European Fencing Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia, in June, he won a gold medal in team épée.

At the 2018 World Fencing Championships in Wuxi, China, in July, Bida won a bronze medal in team épée.

He was ranked #1 in the world in 2019 and 2020.

He is a three-time European épée team champion, and 2021 Olympic épée team silver medalist.

He moved to the United States in June 2023, along with his wife, Olympic épée fencer Violetta Khrapina Bida.

Bida is a member of USA Fencing.

Bida studied Sports Studies at the Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth and Tourism in Moscow.

Bida began fencing at 13 years of age, and his club before he left Russia was Dynamo Moscow.

In March 2019 at the Buenos Aries Fencing World Cup in Argentina, Bida won the gold medal in individual épée.

At the 2019 European Fencing Championships in Düsseldorf, Germany, in June, he won a gold medal in team épée.

At the 2019 World Fencing Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in July, Bida won the individual silver medal in the épée tournament, losing only to Gergely Siklósi of Hungary.

In 2019, Bida was given the title Honoured Master of Sport by the Russian Federation.

He was named the 2019 Male Fencer of the Year by the Russian Federation.

Bida was ranked # 1 in the world in men's épée in 2019 and 2020.

At the January 2020 Fencing Grand Prix in Doha, Qatar, he was the top seed and won the gold medal in individual épée defeating 2019 French team world champion Alexandre Bardenet 15-6 in the final, and that same month at the Heidenheim World Cup in Germany, he won a bronze medal in individual épée.

At the February 2020 Vancouver World Cup in Canada, he won a silver medal in individual épée.

In July 2021 at the Olympics in Tokyo, Bida won a silver medal in team épée, and came in fifth in individual épée (losing only to gold medal winner Romain Cannone of France).

In recognition of his achievements at the Tokyo Olympics, Bida received the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" first class from the president of the Russian Federation.

It was awarded to him by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In January 2023, he won the All-Russian competition in Moscow.

Up until the time he left Russia, he was paid a salary for being a member of the Russian national fencing team.

In May 2023 Bida left Russia and moved to the United States to embark in a career there, joining the AFM Coaching Team in northern California.

He informed his Russian authorities including the management at his club Dynamo and the Russian Fencing Federation that he was ending his sports career in Russia, and their response was "okay, good luck."

He is both coaching and competing in the United States, as is his wife Olympic épée fencer Violetta Khrapina Bida.

As to his coaching young boys and girls at his new club, he said: "At first, the children started off a little bit shy, but it's OK because I was also a little bit shy."

The couple now lives in a one-bedroom apartment, as they await the birth of their first child, and teach children at the local fencing club.

He and his wife join Konstantin Lokhanov as Olympic fencers who left Russia to go to the United States after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In 2023, USA Fencing granted Russians living in the United States the right to compete in American competitions as neutral athletes, if they sign a public declaration against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On the Fourth of July weekend, Bida won a gold medal in the team men’s épée competition at the United States Summer National Championships, in which 60 men's épée teams competed.

The reaction of the Russian Fencing Federation changed dramatically once Bida publicly denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and followed that up by winning a gold medal at the U.S. Summer National Championships.

Embarrassed and angered, a few days later the Russian Fencing Federation fired the Bidas' former coach, the highly regarded Russian national épée team head coach Alexander Glazunov -- "due to the flight of his athletes to the United States without the consent" of the Russian Fencing Federation.

When asked about his firing, the coach said: "I don't know why I'm responsible. It’s better to ask the [Russian Fencing Federation]."