It’s not the first time the fencing team has lamented about the Kenyan government’s lack of support.
Recently, fencing player Alexandra Ndolo was in the news after calling out the government and the Kenya Fencing Federation for not supporting the sport.
The 2022 women’s epee world silver medallist Alexandra Ndolo called out the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) for letting her down one more time.
Ndolo previously lashed out her frustrations at NOC-K’s ‘lack of support’ in an aim to develop fencing in the country. At the time, she revealed that what she received were empty promises and could not afford to finance herself as she sought to promote the sport in the country.
In a fiery reply, the Kenya Fencing Federation fired back at German-born fencer Alexandra Ndolo for her unrealistic demands and sulking nature in her preparations for next year’s Olympics Games in Paris.
“The World Cup(s) are just a series of build-up competitions leading to the Olympics. The requirement is that a fencer has to play in at least six matches. Considering she is the top ranked in Africa, Alex has already qualified for Paris and she knows this. We have tried to ask her to attend only the essential competitions in light of our financial challenges but she has refused,” Chege said.
So who exactly is Ndolo?
She was born to a Polish mother and Kenyan father. Her late father Donald Ndolo moved to Poland to study for a master’s degree, and then relocated to Germany to study for a PhD.
Having represented Germany in fencing earlier in her career, including at six editions of the world championships, she began competing for Kenya in 2022.
“I had prepared myself mentally in advance with my sports psychologist. Or so I thought. But then I was there on my own, wearing the Kenyan colours for the first time, seeing the Kenyan flag in the hall, and I thought, ‘OK, this is all a bit much’. I had a huge lump in my throat. If, in 30 years’ time, people recognise fencing in Kenya as an established sport, then that will be enough for me.” she said.
She became an epee fencer at 21, a rather late start to the sport.
Ndolo’s fencing journey did not follow the conventional path. She is not from a fencing family, or unlike most of her clubmates at the Bayer Leverkusen – her club for ten years – she didn’t spend most of her teens on the fencing piste.
Her first interaction with fencing was through modern pentathlon which consists of the one-touch-epee.
The then nine-year-old would follow her older sister for her training sessions and was enchanted by the sport that evolved from an ancient sword fight.
The focus on the tactics and ability to handle the blade fascinated the young girl, born of a Polish mother and a Kenyan father, who immigrated to Europe to study and later settled in Germany.
“I fell in love with fencing when I was 11. When I was doing it, I fell in love with the moves and the way I could express myself through them, and how I could show how my mind works,” recalled the erstwhile track and field athlete.
“I could have gone to a fencing boarding school when I was 14, but we didn’t have the money. I had to wait an additional seven years before I could start this career and (I told myself) I have a lot to catch up, but I’m capable of doing it and I will do it,” she admitted.
