Sophie Williams Blog

The Olympic Qualification Season Begins

Last month marked the beginning of the Olympic qualification season and I’m pleased to report that so far, it’s been very successful start.

The first port of call was Bologna, Italy, which had an entry of 163 - the biggest entry women’s sabre had ever seen! I started off strongly, winning 5 out of my 6 poule fights. This meant I had a good seeding going into the elimination rounds and a bye through to the Last 128. In the Last 96 I fenced Choi (KOR).  The first half went well and I was up 8-3 at the break. Unfortunately I let my concentration slip a little in the second half and the score increased to 14-14 in the race to 15. I then used a confident parry riposte to win the fight! I was now through to the second day of the competition, so it was back to the hotel for a good nights sleep before getting up and starting strong again the next day. I drew Danilova (RUS) in the Last 64, an experienced fencer who I haven’t fenced before. Although I was narrowly winning at the half way break, I didn’t quite have enough experience to close out the fight and I lost 15-11. I came 41st in the end, which was the best British result at the competition and a significant improvement for me personally.

Only 10 days later, I was off to Tianjin, China, for the second of the qualifiers. Again, I had a good start, winning 4 out of my 6 poule fights, which meant I had a bye to the Last 96, where I fenced Aoki (JAP) and won comfortably 15-7. I was through to the second day and had a tough draw against Jowiak (POL), the world no. 17. Despite having various technical problems during our fight, I kept my cool to win 15-13, one of my strongest victories to date. I was now through to the Last 32, which was new territory for me at senior level. I fenced reasonably well against Schneider (USA) but unfortunately it wasn’t quite enough and I lost 15-11. Getting through to the Last 32 was another huge improvement for my results and I’m really starting to establish myself as a strong senior fencer, especially as it is my first season out of the junior circuit.

Only 10 days later, I was leaving the country again, this time for Ghent in Belgium. We had a bit of difficulty trying to get there as our flight was cancelled and we had to book some last minute Eurostar tickets; but we got there safe, sound and fortunately, on time! There was an even bigger entry here than in Bologna; the Olympic qualifiers are now in full swing and the competition for the very limited spots at the ultimate games is fierce.

In Ghent, the poules didn’t quite go as well as I only won 3 of my 5 poule fights - but it was still enough to get me a fairly good seeding for the direct elimination rounds. My first draw was against Casares (ESP) which I went on to win comfortably.  As a result, I made it into the Last 96, but had a very tough draw, namely the former world top 16 fencer Wozniak (USA).  I had a difficult first half, going 8-2, and although I tried to pull it back in the second half it was too late and I lost 15-10. Although this was a weaker result for me compared to the last couple of competitions, Wozniak went on to come 2nd in the event, so I’m not too disappointed with my performance.

I’m currently writing this on the plane to Canada, where I’m going for an international training camp ahead of the New York A-grade next week. I’ve also just been told that I’ve been selected for the European Championships which are being held in Sheffield next month. I also have a training camp in Hungary before that so it’s going to be pretty much nonstop for the foreseeable future!