FENCING: 22-year-old Australian fencer Emily Marotta isn’t sure who she’ll come up against in the Asian U23 Championships this week in Mongolia, but she knows she’ll come away with a much better idea if the 2016 Rio Olympics is a realistic goal.
Marotta warmed up for the Championships with a stirring win over in-form Australian teenager, Alicia Kwag, in a national circuit event in Melbourne on the weekend.
Kwag is still in the box seat to represent Australia at next year’s Olympic qualifiers, on the strength of a good result at the Open World Championships in Moscow earlier this year.
But if Marotta can perform well in the foil event in Mongolia this week, she’ll head overseas to try and pick up valuable international points.
“I’m hoping I can carry on my good form,” Marotta said.
“When I went to the recent Open Asian Championships I went better than expected, so I’m hoping I can transfer it to the comp this week.
“It’s a perfect chance to see how much more I need to do, and where I’m at in that same age group internationally. It will demonstrate how I’m doing.”
Marotta decided to take up the sport after watching the fencing scene in the movie ‘The Princess Bride’.
In a sport where most fencers don’t peak until their late 20’s, the Victorian believes her best opportunities are still to come.
And she’s constantly changing her approach to fencing to stay ahead of the pack.
“My style has definitely changed, especially in the past six months,” Marotta said.
“If you keep everything the same way, people figure you out so easily. Especially in Australia, where it’s such a small community.
“You have to be prepared to change otherwise people will keep beating you the same way over and over.”
Marotta believes she’s worked out her weaknesses, and is trying to be more attacking.
“One thing a lot of female foilists like to do is counter-attack,” she said.
“I’ve been practicing attacking, and it seems to have been working really well. I was too easy to read, my attacks were too simple. People could easily read where I was going to finish.
“The good fencers in this country are the ones who can understand what’s gone wrong in the past, and fix it. It is a sport where you have to use your brains a lot.”
Eight Australians will be competing at the Asian U23 World Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from September 7-12.
FENCING AUSTRALIA
