Fencer could break 20-year Olympic drought
Joking around in high school art class and stabbing her friend with a ruler sparked a journey that’s taken Tamsyn Campbell around the world.
Now the Christchurch 23-yearold is hoping to end a 20-year drought of Kiwi fencers at the Olympics, with a chance to win her ticket to Paris at a qualifying tournament in Dubai this weekend.
Out-skilling her opponents from 19 other countries at the event would set Campbell on the same path as her idol, Jess Beer, who made history in Athens in 2004 as the first New Zealand female fencer - and the most recent – to compete at an Olympic Games. “I used her as a model of what I could achieve and having met her, spoken to her, and fenced against her, it became more real,” Campbell said.
Fencing is a game of “real life chess”, which has a huge mental and tactical component. “A lot of it is learning what your opponent likes to do, and acting accordingly, and it can [involve] tricking them and then attacking them somewhere completely differently.”
While most athletes pick up fencing at a young age, it’s a sport Campbell discovered only in her last year at Burnside High School seven years ago after mimicking duelling fencers, armed with a ruler, in art class.
A friend encouraged her to give it a g for real, and it’s since taken her to the World Fencing Championships, Commonwealth Fencing Championships, world cups and grands prix. “The Olympics has definitely always been a goal since I started fencing, I got really competitive really quickly,” she said. “It would be incredible [to go].”
Olympic qualification goes automatically to the best global ranked fencers. Zone qualifying competitions take place in each of the four regions (Africa, Pan-America, Europe and Asia/Oceania) for athletes to prove they’re worthy.
Campbell received the only New Zealand spot in the women’s épée (the type of weapon Campbell uses) event to attend the Asia/Oceania qualifier in Dubai this Saturday and Sunday where she’ll compete in pool play and knock-out matches.
She needs to win the whole tournament to confirm her Olympic dreams. Fencers from Japan and Singapore will be her “toughest” competition. “I’m choosing to think of the pressure as more excitement than anything else.”
The University of Canterbury sports coaching graduate and science student credits her progress to her career-long coach, Sheldon Ogilvie, and valued supporters.
Longevity in the sport means athletes can often peak in their 30s, so 2024 will not be her only opportunity to go after her Olympic dream. She’ll “absolutely” be gunning for 2028 or 2032 too.