Men's Fencing 9/7/2021 10:42:00 AM Karl Henkel, WSUAthletics.com Guest Contributor

FEATURE STORY: A Lifelong Dream Comes True

The following feature first appeared in the football game program on Sept. 2, 2021.

Like many of us, former Wayne State University men's fencer and current graduate assistant coach Ziad Elsissy's 2020 plans were upended by the COVID-19 pandemic.

But unlike most of us, who set up home offices and telecommuted, it was a different experience for Elsissy, who had to train at his home while he awaited word on the fate of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where he qualified to compete as part of the sabre squad for his home country of Egypt.

As the pandemic raged, Elsissy soon learned the games – and his Olympic dreams – would need to wait until 2021, so he used the extra time to hone his craft. The results: a fifth-place finish on the global stage for Egypt in the team sabre and a round-of-16 appearance for himself in the individual sabre.

For those unfamiliar with fencing – and specifically, Egypt's place in the fencing world – both results are significant accomplishments, Elsissy said.

"I'm the first to win a bout in sabre and we're the first [Egyptian] team to win a bout in sabre [in the Olympics]," Elsissy, captain of the Egyptian Olympic Sabre fencing team, said proudly. "Before, just participating was enough. But now we've changed that and now everyone around the world, when they mention fencing, they have to mention Egypt.

"As a team, we did an outstanding job and beat out some strong teams, like Japan, Russia and Iran."

Egypt, despite being the eighth seed in the men's sabre bracket, finished fifth, losing to eventual Gold Medal winner South Korea in the quarterfinals. It was Egypt's first time competing in the men's team sabre event at the Olympic Games since 2008, according to the official Olympics website.

Elsissy, seeded 24th in the individual part of the competition – the men's individual sabre was a bracket of 64, though more than two dozen fencers, including Elsissy, had first-round byes – started by knocking off ninth-seeded Veniamin Reshetnikov of the Russian Olympic Committee before falling to eighth-seeded Sandro Bazadze of Georgia in the round of 16. Bazadze would go on to finish fourth, outperforming his seeding.

Elsissy, 26, described his Olympic experience as "good, but I wanted to do better" and feels like he should have advanced further, but considering the long, winding road just to get to Tokyo – and then the solitary lifestyle of the Olympic village during a pandemic – is proud of how he and his home country performed.

Including his performance in the individual competition, Elsissy posted a 10-4 record and outscored his opponents 83-58 (+25) in touches.

"On the individual [performance], I just hoped I would have done a little better in my second bout," Elsissy said of his matchup with Bazadze of Georgia.

Dream Delayed
Many around the world, including athletes, coped with the pandemic and its many athletic-related interruptions in different ways.

While Elsissy – who graduated from Wayne State with a mechanical engineering degree in 2018 and has dedicated most of his effort to his fencing dreams ever since graduation – admitted it was hard to remain focused and continue training, he maintained committed to his lifelong goals of competing in the Olympic Games.

It definitely wasn't easy. Training equipment and space wasn't ideal. No trainer on standby to make sure he didn't get injured. For a while, unknown timing for the Olympics – and the chance they could get pushed back again.

"That dream you have when you go to bed every night – that's the only thing that keeps you going," Elsissy said of the time he spent training alone at home.

Ultimately, Elsissy says he thinks the extra time was a benefit to him, but said it was clear it impacted athletes in different ways, and that it played some role in the results of the Olympic contests.

"A lot of people lost family members, lost coaches, some countries weren't as open as other countries," he said.

The pandemic, which at the time of the Olympics was heavily affecting Tokyo, also meant he flew in 10 days prior to his first competition before moving into Olympic Village a few days later. Capacity and movement restrictions, however, did help Elsissy in one area – keeping focus prior to competition.

"It's hard for athletes, especially if it's your first time at the Olympics; you're going to get distracted," Elsissy said. "That village is everything an athlete dreams about. You're there with the top athletes in the world from all sports, NBA players, and professional tennis players.

"But my goal going in was to not get distracted and to stay on my own routine: don't leave the room that often, keep the same training times, meal times."

Continuing His Legacy
Elsissy is no stranger to international competition, which also helped ready him for his Olympic challenge. In high school, he was a member of the Egyptian National Fencing Team. He also participated in the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympic Games, among many other major fencing events.

He recalls that as a sophomore in 2016, he qualified for the NCAA Championships – where he later finished as a runner-up in his junior and senior seasons – and was in qualifying for the Grand Prix, or Fencing World Cup.

The problem: timing would not allow him to participate in both, and he was faced with the excruciating decision of school versus country. His fencing coach, Jerzy Radz, who led the Wayne State men's and women's fencing squads for 30 years before his retirement in 2020, recommended that he talk to Rob Fournier, Director of Athletics, about his conundrum.

Nervous, Elsissy talked with Fournier, who matter-of-factly told the young fencer he needed to dream big.

"He didn't even let me finish," Elsissy recalled. "You gotta do your dream and we're here to support you."

It's that support Elsissy experienced at Wayne State – whether in the classroom, on the strip, or in conversations with coaches or administrators – that he now wants to provide for the next generation of fencers.

"I would love to help anyone – not just the Egyptian team – better understand the sport," said Elsissy, who in addition to his role as graduate assistant coach also helps at various fencing clubs. "There are a lot of kids out there that remind me of myself when I started. I want to share with them to help get them where they want to be."

Print Friendly Version