Sach joins from British Fencing where he served as the world class performance pathway saber coach – a position in which he coached and monitored members of the British Olympic team.

"I have enjoyed all the positions I have fulfilled for British Fencing over the last few years, but am looking forward to taking on the role of high performance director for USA Fencing and working with all involved within the international programme to maximise the potential of US athletes at all levels," Sach said.

A former junior and senior world team saber fencer for Britain, Sach earned two individual silver medals at the Commonwealth Games in 1998 and 2002 before turning his focus to the coaching and refereeing ranks.

In 2004, Sach was named as the men's and women's saber team manager for Britain's under-20 team – a position he held until 2007 when he was named as the saber coach.

Sach also became an International Fencing Federation (FIE) referee in 2004 and rose through the ranks quickly as he earned appointments as a referee at the 2005 Senior World Championships and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

In 2007, Sach was named as the vice-chairman of the British Fencing referee committee and earned a position as a member of British Fencing's Board of directors in 2008.

In his new role, Sach will be responsible for working with the USA Fencing high performance staff to  create and implement a successful high performance plan and develop an athlete pipeline that continually feeds athletes from youth programs through the senior ranks and, ultimately, onto the Olympic podium.

"We are all very excited about welcoming David to the USA Fencing staff," said USA Fencing chief executive Greg Dilworth.

"We have the utmost confidence that his extensive experience in all areas of international fencing will help prepare our athletes for continued success on the world and Olympic stage as well as grow our sport at all levels, from development through elite."

Sach succeeds Jim Page who was named as USA Fencing's high performance director last August.

Page will remain with the organization through the 2012 Olympic Games as the director of sport strategy.

He will be responsible for strategic sports issues around the design and execution of an American system of fencing and for developing a "Team Rio" programme for fencing success during the next Olympic quadrennium.

"David's hiring is great news for USAFencing," Page said.

"He can bring stability to the position and help to put together excellent programmes and great support for our athletes and coaches for years to come."

Sach will begin working with Team USA at the Junior and Cadet World Championships in Jordan later this month.

"Jim has been an invaluable asset to this organisation," Dilworth said.

"I think Jim and David will work well together to prepare our team for outstanding results in London."