Actor Mandy Patinkin, best known for playing swordsman Inigo Montoya in "The Princess Bride," has been named USA Fencing's first-ever honorary team captain ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. The move forms part of USA Fencing's new Ambassador Programme, launched with the International Fencing Federation and World Para Fencing, aimed at raising the sport's profile and attracting new audiences before the Games return to American soil for the first time in more than three decades.

Patinkin, who trained under Olympic fencing coach Henry Harutunian and swordmaster Bob Anderson for his role in the 1987 film, will make select appearances at USA Fencing events and support the national team in the run-up to Los Angeles 2028. USA Fencing chief executive Phil Andrews said Patinkin's genuine appreciation of the sport's discipline and community made him an ideal choice, while Patinkin himself praised fencing as a mental as much as physical craft and paid tribute to competitive fencers as "the real thing."