Ivan Lee has been in the sport of fencing for over 25 years. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, he first learned the sport back in 1993, at the world renowned Peter Westbrook Foundation, a non-profit organization led by six-time Olympian Peter Westbrook, which teaches fencing and provides educational services and life skills to inner-city youth in the New York City area.
Only three years after switching from foil to sabre, Ivan made his first of 11 United States World Championship teams, winning the bronze medal in Under-17 Men's Sabre at the 1998 Junior World Championships. He would go on to win three more world championship medals on the Under-20 level, including team gold at the 2001 Junior World Championships.
Ivan graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1999, as the Senior Athlete of the Year, and earned a full scholarship to St. John's University. In his sophomore season for the Red Storm, Ivan led his team to the 2001 NCAA National Title, defeating rival Penn State 180-172. He won two NCAA individual sabre titles and was a four-time First Team All American, posting a four-year regular season record of 77-7. Ivan graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism in January of 2004.
Upon graduation from college, Ivan earned a spot on the 2004 United States Olympic Team in Athens, Greece. In the individual sabre event, Ivan finished in 12th place. In the team relay, Team USA took 4th place, missing the bronze medal by one point. After failing to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Team, Ivan retired from competition. He finished his competitive career with five US Division 1 individual national titles, nine Division 1 team national titles, four world championship medals, two NCAA individual sabre titles, the 2003 Pan American title, and world rankings as high as #1 in the 2001 Junior point standings and #4 in the 2007 Senior point standings. He was awarded the US Olympic Committee's Athlete of the Year for Fencing in 2001, and was inducted into the USA Fencing Hall of Fame in 2014, his first year on the ballot.
Ivan's referee career began in 1997, when, while only in high school, he was invited to referee a dual meet at Hunter College. That began a 22-year span in which he officiated on every level, from high school to college to the national and international levels. He officiated at 10 NCAA Championship events, 10 USA Division 1 National Championship events, and hundreds of high school dual meets and tournaments across the tri-state area. In 2019, Ivan became a certified referee instructor for USA Fencing.
Ivan's coaching career began recently, when he was hired as the Head Women's Fencing Coach at Long Island University's Brooklyn campus in March 2019. He was later hired as the Head Sabre Coach at Long Island Fencing Center in Carle Place, NY.