• Maître d’Armes of fencing.
• 3 times Olympic qualifier
• top 10 world ranking (U19)
• highly recognized international coach and fencer (achievements and credentials info below)

Walid Mahran is a Maître d’Armes of fencing, and has over 25 years of fencing experience. As an athlete, Mahran served as a member of eight Egyptian World Championship teams (Junior and Senior). After winning the gold medal in the 1989 Junior World Cup, France, Mahran reached top ten world ranking (Junior). Mahran also won the gold at the Arab games the same year, competing against and defeating fencers from 15 countries. In 1988, 1992 and 1996, Mahran qualified for the Olympic men's foil team from Egypt. During his time as one of the best athletes in his field, he won over 40 medals in international competitions and over 150 medals in National competitions in Egypt.
 

 Mahran has served as head coach and director of fencing at Athletic Club Northeast since 1999. In addition to his coaching at ACN, Coach Mahran teaches fencing at Woodward Academy, Atlanta International School, and Pace Academy. He also directs fencing classes at the Barney Medintz summer camp and acts as a consulting coach for the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Walid also teaches clinics at the U.S. Air Force Academy and often directs at the Academy's tournaments.

   Walid Mahran's coaching success is clearly evident in his students' results. Since 1993, his athletes have won over 80 medals in national and international competitions. Year 2006 alone, his fencers brought home nine medals from the United States National Competition, and year 2005 six medals. Mahran earned the USFA's coaches medal in 1997, 2003, 2004, and 2005 as a result of his students' gold medal performance at Summer Nationals.

   In addition to his successes as an athlete and as a coach, Walid Mahran also has a strong education. He earned a degree in physical education with a major in fencing from Helwan University in Cairo, and received a graduate degree in fencing and sports psychology from the prestigious CRPS de Bordeaux in France in 1988. In 1989 after the World Championship in Athens, the FIE formally recognized Mahran for his accomplishments and presented him with a diploma given only to junior fencers ranked among the top sixteen in the world.

While education and experience is vital, Walid Mahran possesses something else that defines him as an excellent coach. A strong personality marked by integrity and loyalty makes him an excellent mentor for all of his fencers--young and old. The result is a positive, supportive atmosphere at ACN Atlanta and Lotus Fencing Academy where fencers can work toward excellence.

 Some of Walid's achievements listed below:

• International coach
• Worldcup Championships
• World/International Championships
• National Championships
• Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) publication