Olympic Fencer Nick Itkin: How Exercise Can Help You Focus

For Mental Health Awareness month, Olympic fencer, Nick Itkin shares how he used to struggle with staying focused in class. Hear how physical activity and fencing helped him reduce anxiety, improve his confidence, and stay focused in competitions.

World-class athletes join us in the #MentalHealthFitness campaign to acknowledge the importance of prioritizing mental health as well as physical wellbeing. In personal videos, they share how they’ve been able to face their own mental health challenges and offer pointers on how to combine fitness with core mental health skill building to maintain your #MentalHealthFitness.  

For more inspiring videos on how world-class athletes stay mentally fit, check out this year’s Mental Health Fitness campaign.

Nick Itkin, a 24-year-old American foil fencer, has quickly become a force to be reckoned with on the world stage. Nick’s impressive list of achievements includes two NCAA championships, a gold medal at the 2023 Pan American Games, and individual silver and bronze medals at the World Championships. Notably, Itkin’s 2023 World Championship silver makes him the first U.S. man to win back-to-back individual World Championship medals.

Asking for support when you need it is a key part of maintaining your #MentalHealthFitness. These resources can help:

• How Can We Help Kids With Self-Regulation?
• ADHD and Exercise
• Sports for Kids With Learning and Emotional Challenges