Iosif Vitebskiy enters his 10th season as the assistant coach of the University of Pennsylvania fencing program. He, along with Dave Micahnik, guided the 2006-07 Penn men’s and women’s teams to third-place finishes in the Ivy League.

Vitebskiy helped the 2003-04 women’s squad claim its 10th Ivy title in program history and finish the season ranked fourth by the USFCA. Under Micahnik’s and Vitebskiy’s tutelage, the Quakers’ women’s team also made history at the Intercollegiate Fencing Association (IFA) championships at the end of February, claiming its first-ever IFA title in 2004.

His vast knowledge and experience made an immediate impact in 1998-99, as he helped guide the men’s team to its first Ivy League title since 1983, while the men’s and women’s teams combined for a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships.

Prior to his appointment at Penn, Vitebskiy served for 10 years (1988-1998) as the director of the school for high sport achievements at the State University of Ukraine. Before that, he was head coach of the Ukraine Republic National Team for 13 years, where he guided five epee fencers to national and Olympic championships.

A graduate of the Kiev State University with a degree in physical culture and sport, Vitebskiy was a member of both the Soviet Union and Ukraine national teams. A 19-time national championship medalist—10 gold, six silver and three bronze medals—Vitebskiy was a three-time winner of both the Soviet Union and the Europe Cup tournaments.

He is a former member of the USSR team that won three consecutive World Championships (1967-69) and earned a silver medal at the 1968 Olympic Games. In the summer of 1999, Vitebskiy won the gold medal in the Veteran 60 Men’s Epee at the Summer National Championships in Charlotte, N.C.

Vitebskiy and his wife, Emma reside in the northeast section of Philadelphia. They have two sons, Dmitriy and Alex.