Tokyo, JAPAN (July 22, 2021) — You’ve seen him at the club, leading classes and joining in for bouting. And when pandemic lockdowns forced fencing to go online, he was leading the way with TMFC’s offerings all the way from Egypt.
And now? Ziad Elsissy is live and in person at the Tokyo Olympics, ranked 28th in the world, and representing his home country of Egypt for both individual and team saber fencing.
Being at the Olympics, “feels good,” Elsissy said via WhatsApp from Tokyo. “It’s a lot, being in the Olympic Village, with the most elite athletes in the world. You just want to focus on your events and not get distracted. It’s very important not to get distracted.”
He is choosing familiarity over stargazing. “I’m keeping with my same routine,” he said. “I isolate myself and focus on my training, my recovery, eating well, and keeping as if I was training at home.”
Elsissy started fencing in Egypt when he was 12 with coach Gamal Abdel Latif. After that, “I moved to the national team with Sharif Al-Bakri, as well as Coach Hamdy.” He fenced with the Egyptian National Fencing Team from 2009-13.
He attended Wayne State University where he held the record for saber victories in program history (332) and was a three-time all-American.
After college, training at Tim Morehouse Fencing Club appealed to Elsissy. “I decided to move to New York because New York has the best saber training in the U.S.,” he said. “I talked to Tim about coming to the club and training and he was very welcoming. That’s it — that’s how it started.”
Obviously, Elsissy has a love for the sport and has been able to share that with the younger fencers at TMFC.
“It’s a great sport — you play that chess game on the strip with your opponent, trying to read their minds and trying to read their body language. It’s a game — that’s what I love about the sports itself,” he said, adding: “Fencing has taught me a lot in my life — to be patient, to set goals, and to not give up easily.
As for the future, that is something Elsissy won’t focus on after Tokyo. “I want to finish my master’s degree. I don’t know if I will continue fencing — it depends.“ He added: “I’m not trying to think about this and put pressure on myself. I’m just thinking about what I’m going to do at the Olympics. I will have a good time planning after that. “
Men’s Individual Saber bouts will be broadcast on Fencing.net or NBC Streaming starting at 8 pm EDT on Friday, July 23rd.
We wish him the best of luck!
