Fencing
Gold medallist Olga Kharlan explains the incredible numbers behind fencing
Olga Kharlan is one of the most revered sabre fencers in the world with a number of global titles to her name. She's also a visionary for the sport she loves.
Olga Kharlan first gained global recognition in 2008 when claiming victory on the biggest sporting stage of all in Beijing as a teenager for her native Ukraine. Over 15 years on, she boasts six medals in all from the Games, as well as four individual world titles and, aged 33, has just equalled her most successful Olympic performance.
Now Ukraine's most-decorated Olympian, she wound the clock back to how a lack of money for dance lessons drove her into a new passion, why fencing is like chess at breakneck speed and how she wants to change the sport for the better.
Here are six things we learned:
01
Fencing is like chess at 200kph
Such a description is apt, says Kharlan, of the sport that's defined her life. "It's very high level tactically and very fast, especially in sabre – we just don't have any time," she said. "That's why you have to make a decision very, very quickly, in one second.”
To prepare for rapid decision-making when tired in the midst of a competition, Kharlan and her training partners are set a variety of mental challenges by their coach at the end of an exhausting session, for example balancing stones on top of each other without them falling over.
02
It's a sport on the rise
Kharlan readily admits she may have rose-tinted spectacles when it comes to her own sport, but she believes it's a sport on the rise. That's thanks in part to the International Fencing Federation, but also to the sport appearing in films and music videos.
However, she readily admits some spectators are still left bemused: "It’s difficult. They're thinking, 'why are they screaming, why are they punching each other, but it's so cool as they look like astronauts!'"
Kharlan would love to help take fencing into the mainstream
© Wheel Bree/Red Bull Content Pool
03
How she'd change the sport
Kharlan has no idea what the future holds for her beyond 2021, but her passion for fencing is such that she may well remain involved in the sport in retirement and she already has ideas for how to further improve it.
"Firstly, I would make the course more understandable for people, like in tennis or football," she said. "I would also try to make fencing more popular and available for kids in schools, so the participation numbers are higher. The sport must be looking to become more popular on TV and YouTube. In Italy, there are fencing champions who are now huge stars, like Cristiano Ronaldo is in football."
Find out more about fencing
04
Fencing is like dance to her
Kharlan believes that dancing made her become a better fencer and her coach even got her training group into dance classes. Plus, she argues there are parallels between the two: "When you're in the rhythm of music, it's similar to the rhythm of fencing – the rhythm of a partner to the rhythm of an opponent. Sometimes you can see some dancing moves in fencing, too."
I'd try to make fencing more available for kids in schools, so the participation numbers are higher
05
Her first fencing prize money went straight to mum
As a 14-year-old, Kharlan began to start easing the financial burden for her family with a first prize cheque, which helped pay off some debts and buy a television.
Recalling that payday, she said: "I went to the ATM, saw this number and I was so surprised, so I put my card in and gave it to my mum. It was a new start. My dream was to have a big house and a labrador. My parents currently live in the house with the labrador!"
Kharlan has her eyes firmly set on more medal success in Tokyo
© Mykyta Zavilinskyi/Red Bull Content Pool
06
Don't tell her coach, but she loves to snowboard
In an ideal world, Kharlan would occasionally swap the fencing piste for a snow-covered one and shred on her snowboard. It's a passion that doesn't always go down well with her coach however.
As she put it, "My coach says I will get injured, so I don't go much. I love it though, because it’s all about balance and bending the knees, so it's actually good for fencing. If I go, I'm obviously very, very careful."