Katarina Egan is a fencer, specialising in women’s epee who was awarded a Tier 1 Scholarship within the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program. She was paired with Taekwondo Olympic Gold Medallist Dr Lauren Burns OAM as her Mentor.
Katarina was born in Basel, Switzerland in 2007 and lived in Germany before moving to Melbourne at the end of 2013. Growing up with two brothers helped shape her competitive and resilient nature, traits that naturally fostered her love of sport and being active. After moving to Melbourne, Katarina dedicated a large amount of her primary school days to playing domestic and representative basketball before somehow discovering the sport of fencing. For several years she juggled the two before eventually choosing to focus solely on fencing – a decision that delighted her fencing coach. Since picking up her first weapon Katarina enjoyed early success, quickly establishing herself as a promising talent at both junior and senior levels.
After achieving continued success at the Cadet and Youth national level, including back-to-back U15 and U17 National Titles, Katarina shifted her focus to competing at the Junior and Senior levels. At her first Senior National Championships, she finished second, an experience that motivated her to embrace every competition and strive to perform at the highest level. During her overseas exchange, Katarina won numerous German state competitions, demonstrating that her talent, dedication, and competitive spirit translated successfully to an international environment.
At the beginning of the 2024/25 season, Katarina qualified for the Australian Senior National Team (Top 4) following an exceptionally strong debut Senior season, ultimately earning the number one ranking in the country and becoming the youngest female epeeist to achieve this distinction.
Whilst she wholeheartedly believes that fencing will always play a fundamental role in her life, outside of her sport Katarina aspires to pursue a career in international policy and diplomacy as she is fascinated by how legal, economic, and political systems interact globally. Her dream is to study in Europe at Bocconi University in Milan and participate in their double degree program with Peking university in China. This involves doing a double degree in International Economics and Management and would provide her the with the opportunity to immerse herself in extremely diverse political and cultural environments. After completing a Bachelor’s degree, she also wants to complete a Masters in International Relations and participate in a variety of different internships.
“Being a SAHOF Scholarship recipient is an immense honour and opportunity for me to grow both as an athlete and as a person. The chance to learn from Lauren Burns, who has already achieved excellence in her field will be invaluable. I am extremely grateful and find it both motivating and reassuring to know I will have Lauren by my side, providing guidance, support, and perspective throughout these next few steps in my career.”– Katarina Egan on being selected as a 2026 Tier 1 Scholarship Holder.
Honours & Achievements
- Women’s Epee #1 Senior Australian Ranking (end of 2024/25 season)
- 2024 Australian Fencing Circuit 1 – 1st Place
- 2024/2025 Junior National Championships – 1st Place
- 2024/2025 Senior National Championships – 2nd Place
- 2023 Junior National Championships – 1st Place
- 2023 Senior National Championships – 2nd Place
Social /Links | Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kategan_fencing/
