LONDON OLYMPICS
FENCING at Excel. 1st August 2012
My friend Julia in Sydney invited me to attend fencing. Not being a
sport I follow and having only seen it in movies I was looking forward to the
spectacle where I could relish the skill and speed of this sport which is
dominated by the French and Italians. When tickets were on offer in London I
jumped at the chance to see the sport again. 12 years later the layout was
quite different with 4 matches happening at the same time on very colourfully
lit mats. The men were fast but sometimes hesitant, waiting for the right time
for a thrust. A skillful sport, this requires perfect timing, a long lean body
and agility. I enjoyed the men’s matches far more than the women’s because the
ladies high-pitched screams throughout were non-stop. It was disconcerting and
hilarious. The ladies didn’t scream to assist with effort and thrust, they
screamed after as if to congratulate themselves? A friend Caroline commented
that this is the ecstasy of murder (historical representation), which explains
a lot. A lovely 70-year-old something British gentleman next to me was
attending a few events and whilst chatting to him (in between him falling
asleep) he asked if Australia had any National sports. Quite taken aback I
looked at him in dismay wondering where he had been in the last 70 years
because he commented on our cricket team. I said we had quite a few National
sports, rattling off a long list, and then proceeded to inform him that every
country suffers from the older stars having to leave their sport and waiting
for the younger athletes to come up through the ranks. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at
Fencing.
