Fencing. Who knew?

Have hardly had a free second over the last week to blog but it’s been one of the better weeks of my life. First off, there was the Opening Ceremonies. I could write 10 pages on the night but it would largely consist of superlatives, mainly the words ‘unbelievable’ and ‘incredible’. But the unexpected treat of the week has been the fact that Fencing is actually pretty damn fun to watch once you understand it.

This is probably true about Cricket, Equestrian and Field Hockey as well, but the drama of Fencing is unparalleled in dare I say, any sport?

Tied at 14-14, Becca Ward wearily eyed her opponent. The next lightning-quick strike of the sword meaning the difference between flying home with a medal around your neck or the weight of failure on your shoulders. The room was dark except for the narrow, dramatically lit piste in a room full of 4,000 faceless spectators waiting to explode at the sound of blade on flesh...

Ok, it doesn’t actually hit the flesh, but I hope that was at least somewhat more interesting than reading about a pre-season NFL game. I don’t see myself looking up Fencing box scores a year from now, but I think we’ve all very much enjoyed covering it so far.

Oh, and Becca won 15-14. She went nuts. It was pretty darn cool.