Fencing is a sport that attracts a lot of attention and creates expectations, and it will be one of the competitions of the Lima 2019 Games, which start on July 26. The Peruvian athletes are getting ready to bring joy to the country; however, six of them took a break from training to visit the San Juan Masías Educational school in Callao.
Fabián Huapaya, Marcio Orihuela, Andrés Espinoza, Alejandro Narro, Rodrigo Espinoza and María Fernanda Tudela, alongside their coach Adolfo Polo, took part in a fencing exhibition as part of the “Callao es Lima 2019” campaign developed by the Regional Government of Callao to promote several sports disciplines that will be part of the Lima 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games. The children watched the exhibition and were able to interact with the athletes.
"It’s a very nice experience for them because children are interested in what they can see; it makes them want to know more about this sport," said Marcio Orihuela.
While María Fernanda Tudela, who has competed in the South American Championship, where she ranked fourth in the youth category, said: “I think these types of activations are great. Fencing is a very nice and elegant sport. I love practicing it because I tried to find a sport that suited my personality.”
“This type of activity is interesting because fencing attracts a great deal of attention and it can be used to discover potential athletes. I just want to tell them to go for it, try it out and to not be scared,” said Andrés Espinoza.
Marcio Orihuela, Andrés Espinoza and Fabián Huapaya will represent Peru at Lima 2019, and they know that the task is difficult, but not impossible.
“The Pan American Games will serve to further promote all sports. I just want to encourage them to practice high performance sports because it’s going to help them throughout their lives,” said Fabián Huapaya.
Fencing will take place from August 5 to 10 at the Lima Convention Center in San Borja in three disciplines: sabre, foil and épée. The stage, recently tested during the South American Championship, is another incentive for athletes who dream of representing Peru.
“It’s a very elegant and beautiful first-rate stage,” said Adolfo Polo, coach of the Peruvian fencing team.
“I’m very proud that the country is preparing and working together for this sports celebration,” concluded María Fernanda Tudela.