Education
In 1996, he was the National Collegiate Athletic Association Foil Champion while at the University of Pennsylvania, where he attended the Wharton School of Business. He also earned an Master of Business Administration from Wharton.
Bayer won the 1995 United States. National Championship while still a senior at Riverdale Country School in the Bronx. He was, at age 17, the youngest person to win the national championship—an honor that he held until 2007, when Gerek Meinhardt won the championship at the age of 16.
He also won the United States. National Championship in 1997, 1998, and 2000.
At the 1996 Summer Olympics, Bayer placed 34th in the individual foil competition, and was a member of the United States. foil team that finished 10th.
Bayer was ranked Number.
8 in the world in foil at the start of the 2000 Summer Olympics. He was eliminated from the competition in the third round, placing 10th.
Bayer was named male Fencing Athlete of the Year by the 2000 United States. Olympic Committee.
Bayer was the first American to win a medal at a senior men"s World Cup event, taking the bronze in Espinho, Portugal in May 1999. He was also the first American to win a World Cup title, winning the World Championship Cup Saint St. Petersburg, Russia that same year.
At that competition, he routed 3-time world champion Sergei Golubitsky of Ukraine 15–6 in the quarterfinals before defeating 1995 world champion Dmitriy Shevchenko of Russia 10–5 in the final.
Bayer won a second World Cup title in April 2000 in Bonn, Germany, where he defeated defending Olympic champion Puccini of Italy.
Bayer"s best showing at the world championships was in 1999, when he placed 12th in the individual foil event.
Bayer won a team silver medal at the 1999 Pan American Games in Canada.