Sporting a beekeeper-style mask, a kevlar vest and a saber, Tatiana Mazlynov takes to the strip at her family's fencing club in Bethesda, Maryland. She'll be one of three fencers from the D.C. area to compete in the Paris Olympics later this month as they hope to cement the nation's capital status as a fencing hotbed.
Sporting a beekeeper-style mask, a kevlar vest and a saber, Tatiana Mazlynov takes to the strip at her family’s fencing club in Bethesda, Maryland. She’ll be one of three fencers from the D.C. area to compete in the Paris Olympics later this month as they hope to cement the nation’s capital status as a fencing hotbed.
Nazlymov is part of the next generation of American fencers, alongside northern Virginia native Hadley Husisian. In areas like New York and New Jersey, fencing is more established in the culture and is even offered as a sport in high schools. Vitali Nazlymov, Tatiana’s father, noted that there were more than 200 fencers at New Jersey’s high school championships. The D.C. area doesn’t come close to matching those numbers.In the D.C. area, where fencing is absent from most schools, young fencers are relegated to clubs. They say that’s been a benefit.
Holmes, Husisian and Nazlymov all attended Princeton on fencing scholarships and have trained in the New York area. While the pedigree might be deeper in the northeast, they say it doesn’t match the energy of their hometown. “I chose D.C. because it is more international,” Nazlymov said. The former NCAA champion would start his own club 20 years later.
The variety of coaches means there is no single predominant style or school of thought for fencers in the D.C. area. Instead, they regularly challenge themselves by competing against different strategies at regional events. Ray Finkleman, who coached Holmes at the Chevy Chase Fencing Club, said he was drawn to the sport after reading “Cyrano de Bergerac” in high school. Husisian cited an episode of “iCarly” as her introduction. Holmes says she was obsessed with medieval times and wanted to be a knight.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
In first District 7 debate, three candidates, three sharply different visionsOver 60 people crammed into BookShop West Portal on Thursday night for the first forum of this year’s District 7 supervisor race.
Read more »
Primary election results: Who will be district attorney nominees in Colorado's new judicial district?Decision 2024: Primary election results and analysis
Read more »
District 11 candidates discuss how to bring the district its fair share of city servicesWelcome to the “Meet the Candidates” for District 11, where we ask each candidate to answer a question a week leading up to the election.
Read more »
Mescal-J6 Fire District chief resigns; board considers interim chief from nearby districtAndrew Christiansen is KGUN 9's Catalina Foothills reporter. Send your story ideas to Andrew at andrew.christiansenkgun9.com.
Read more »
Meet the District 3 candidates: More homeless housing in District 3?Question this week: More homeless housing in District 3? One candidate expressed disapproval; another avoided the question.
Read more »
Olympics Bound: Former LSU Beach Volleyball Tandem Headed to Summer OlympicsFormer Tiger duo Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth qualify for 2024 Olympics, set to represent Team USA.
Read more »