I started the 2014-2015 Season without any solid results that placed me in a good spot on the Canadian ranking. Doing well in Budapest was very important if I wanted to make it into Canada’s Top 4 and participate in the Pan-American Championships.
(The Pan-American Championship is a key tournament to do well in because it is worth the same points as a Grand Prix, but limited only to the athlete pool from North and South America.)
I had to finish at least in the Top64. We were 296 fencers during that Grand Prix. At that point, my whole Olympic qualification was riding on doing well that day. I had 3 victories and 3 losses in pools – if I didn’t want to be eliminated on the first day of this tournament, I had to win 3 bouts of 15 hits to access the tableau of 64.
So here was the challenge: I was ranked 775th in the world. To make it to the tableau, I needed to defeat the fencers who were ranked 105th, 51st and 27th.
Minor challenge right?
I approached every bout with the same way: 1) enjoy fencing, 2) have fun and 3) not get hit too often. It was definitely the right attitude to have because I won all my bouts and made it to the second day!
I fenced against the 7th in the world (Bogdan Nikishin, Ukraine) and I lost 13-10. A really close match that ended due to going to time. Although I was disappointed, this was my best performance. I placed 58th as a final result which garnered me just enough points to be ranked #4 in Canada.
I was going to Panams in Chile!
Visit the Fencing Grand Prix West Budapest Official Website here.
(The Pan-American Championship is a key tournament to do well in because it is worth the same points as a Grand Prix, but limited only to the athlete pool from North and South America.)
I had to finish at least in the Top64. We were 296 fencers during that Grand Prix. At that point, my whole Olympic qualification was riding on doing well that day. I had 3 victories and 3 losses in pools – if I didn’t want to be eliminated on the first day of this tournament, I had to win 3 bouts of 15 hits to access the tableau of 64.
So here was the challenge: I was ranked 775th in the world. To make it to the tableau, I needed to defeat the fencers who were ranked 105th, 51st and 27th.
Minor challenge right?
I approached every bout with the same way: 1) enjoy fencing, 2) have fun and 3) not get hit too often. It was definitely the right attitude to have because I won all my bouts and made it to the second day!
I fenced against the 7th in the world (Bogdan Nikishin, Ukraine) and I lost 13-10. A really close match that ended due to going to time. Although I was disappointed, this was my best performance. I placed 58th as a final result which garnered me just enough points to be ranked #4 in Canada.
I was going to Panams in Chile!
Visit the Fencing Grand Prix West Budapest Official Website here.
Watch my final bout at Budapest against Nikishin below!
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