My Hero

She took a wrong turn and stumbled into a recreation room with a very interesting kind of people. People with swords and funny white uniforms. But ironically enough, her taking that wrong turn helped her land in the olympics.

My public hero is Rebecca Ward. She is the third best womens sabreist in the world and she is only 18. She was the best sabreist in the world for everyone for Cadet, Junior, and Senior competitions (Cadet is 16 and under, Junior is 18 and under, and Senior is 20 and under) a couple years back when she was only 16. I admire her because of her will and perserverance. She is basically one of the reasons I fence sabre and not one of the other two weapons. In the fencing community, she is regarded as one of the most talented and gifted fencers that has ever lived. No one really views her as a villian, some might have friendly rivalries against her, such as Mariel Zagunis and Sada Jacobson (the first and second best sabreists in the world, respectively). Her perserverance to be one of the best in the world has led her up to becoming what she is today. I wish to have that type of perserverance because I want to compete in the 2012 London Olympics as well.

I also admire her because she is able to balance her fencing and personal life. A typical senior-level fencing season runs from January to September, and she devotes almost every day during that time to training. She is also finishing up her post-secondary schooling, she is home schooled, and completing the standardized exams in preparation for enrollment at Duke University after the Beijing Games. She also finds time to do her favorite hobbies, like photography and white water rafting. Even now, when I am only training for the olympic trials, my social life has slowly dwindled down.

Through perseverance, practice, and a little bit of luck, Rebecca Ward's wrong turn at a Denver recreation center landed her in the olympics. She has proven herself to be one of the best of the best. She has faced and overturned each obstacle put in her way. And all at the age of 18 years old. This is why Rebecca Ward is my hero.