New York, NY (September 2022) — When Madelon Rosenfeld takes the strip at the FIE Veterans World Fencing Championships in Zadar, Croatia next month, it will be for the eighth time.
This Vet-70 foil fencer made the Veteran World Team in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2021, and now — 2022. It’s quite an accomplishment for someone who regularly thought about quitting.
Rosenfeld took up foil fencing in her 40s. “A co-worker was talking about fencing, and it sounded interesting,” she said, but she was initially frustrated.
“I couldn’t get it. My husband told me if it makes you so miserable then quit,” she said, yet she continued. “If I was going to quit, I wanted to quit on my own terms.” She made deals with herself along the way. “I decided I wouldn’t quit until I got my E rating. Then it was my D, and then I got my C.” She added, “I made friends along the way, and now it’s a part of who I am. Fencing is the best combination of the mental and the physical.”
Though she professes to fly under the radar with her fencing, she’s been featured in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.
Rosenfeld has been working with Coach Slava Grigoriev for more than 20 years. “Literally and figuratively, I am his oldest student,” she said. And her devotion shows in her actions — she makes the five-hour door-to-door trip (subway and MetroNorth train to and from) to train with Coach Slava in Port Chester each week.
This Veteran’s World Championship will be the first since 2019 in Egypt which brings the element of surprise to the competition. “I will be facing competitors I may or may not have seen before,” Rosenfeld said. “The US team is strong, but we don’t know about the other countries. My goal is to fence the best I can.”
The FIE Veterans World Fencing Championships 2022 will be held in Zadar, Croatia, from October 5th through 12th.