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Slowtwitch Forums: Lavender Room:
Canadian Fencer

cuds

Aug 10, 08 21:13

Post #1 of 16 (351 views)

Canadian Fencer	Can't Post

Anyone else impressed with the female Canadian fencer? She won her match today. Oh, and she's 50 years old!!!! Awesome!
_____________________________________
Stop being such a scrotetard and htfu!

David in FL

Aug 11, 08 7:21

Post #2 of 16 (300 views)

Re: Canadian Fencer [cuds] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I'm a former collegiate fencer, and I can tell you that "awesome" doesn't begin to describe it. I was sorry to see her draw in the second round though. That was tough. She (and Canada) should still be very proud though!

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt

russ

Aug 11, 08 11:09

Post #3 of 16 (242 views)

Re: Canadian Fencer [cuds] [In reply to]	Can't Post

She previously won a gold for China then re badged for Canada. Saying that I noticed that she pulled out a Chinese flag to wave after she had won.
..........................................................................

If a person never quit when the going got tough they wouldn't have anything to regret for the rest of their life.

DawnT

Aug 11, 08 11:16

Post #4 of 16 (239 views)

Re: Canadian Fencer [cuds] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Her story is one of the best of the Olympics. They interviewed her and her family last night during the CBC coverage. Her husband broke down crying when he was talking about how hard it's been on everyone for her to requalify, but he also stressed how proud he is of her. I think she's doing a great thing and her kids will benefit from seeing her reach the goal of competing at that level once again. Her oldest daughter is an up and coming fencer as well. I wouldn't be surprised to see her in 2016 competing for Canada.

fred_h

Aug 11, 08 11:19

Post #5 of 16 (233 views)

Re: Canadian Fencer [DawnT] [In reply to]	Can't Post

this is a great story.
However the issue I have is that she should not be able to fence for team Canada sine che was part of team China.

Fred.

DawnT

Aug 11, 08 11:24

Post #6 of 16 (228 views)

Re: Canadian Fencer [fred_h] [In reply to]	Can't Post

So, in your opinion, once you compete for one country, you can never compete for another? That seems like an arbitrary rule to me. Why does it matter? It's not like she is currently competing for China. That was 24 years ago. She has made a new life in this country and wants to represent it at the Olympics. I think that's a wonderful statement. I would have been sad if she has tried to compete for China (they probably wouldn't have let her) even though she's now living in Canada.

cuds

Aug 11, 08 11:34

Post #7 of 16 (219 views)

Re: Canadian Fencer [fred_h] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Are you aware of how many athlete's compete for more than one country in their lifetime? To say once you compete for one country you can't compete for another would eliminate a lot of competition!
_____________________________________
Stop being such a scrotetard and htfu!

fred_h

Aug 11, 08 11:42

Post #8 of 16 (212 views)

Re: Canadian Fencer [DawnT] [In reply to]	Can't Post

There are several sports once you have competed for one country, you cannot compete for another country.
Maybe the world is changing, & it no longer matters what country you are from or representing. Then I wonder what is the point of doing the medals ranking per country and having the athlete parade for a given country (of their choice for that Olympiad).

Fred.

DawnT

Aug 11, 08 11:52

Post #9 of 16 (204 views)

Re: Canadian Fencer [fred_h] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Well, I think it matters quite a bit and I think most of the athletes agree. It's not like they're throwing a dart at a map of the world to choose what country they want to represent. These are countries that they are citizens of. Not too many people take that decision lightly. I've never heard that there are sports that don't allow you to compete for a second country. That sounds like a strange rule to me. As long as you are a citizen of the country, then I think you should be able to represent it (assuming the country wants you, that is!).

vitus979

Aug 11, 08 11:56

Post #10 of 16 (195 views)

Re: Canadian Fencer [DawnT] [In reply to]	Can't Post

It's not like they're throwing a dart at a map of the world to choose what country they want to represent. These are countries that they are citizens of.

Some do essentially throw a dart, and are not citizens of the country they represent. There was a story yesterday about some American pro basketball player who's playing for Germany. Apparently there are quite a few hired guns out there. That's uncool.

Doesn't sound like that applies to this fencer, though.

"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

IAMike

Aug 11, 08 12:09

Post #11 of 16 (186 views)

Re: Canadian Fencer [vitus979] [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

You are exactly right. Chris Kaman is playing for the German men's BB team, and he qualifies because his grandparents were born in Germany. There is also an American woman playing on the Russian women's BB team, and pretty much only because she is on a pro team over there. And don't forget the espn.com articles on the young woman who tried 5-6 different sports to get into the Olympics, found she was decent at cycling and ended up trying to get a spot for St Kitts or something.

jriosa

Aug 11, 08 13:21

Post #12 of 16 (151 views)

Re: Canadian Fencer [vitus979] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Not only are individuals somewhat cavalier about this, countries can do a pretty good job re-writing the rules to get what they see as premium athletes on their teams. I think the case in Germany is something like grandparents or great grandparents was good enough to be defined a citizen as far as the games go. And while slogging through the immigration process, this kinda ticked me off a few years ago

"However, by a special act of Congress sponsored by Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) that passed on December 28, 2005, which President George W. Bush signed on December 31, 2005, [Tanith] Belbin became a naturalized citizen, making her able to compete for the United States at the 2006 Winter Olympics."

There really should be some level of standards put in place about this type of thing.
Jim

vitus979

Aug 11, 08 13:24

Post #13 of 16 (147 views)

Re: Canadian Fencer [jriosa] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I agree. There have been some last minute, rush-rush citizenship changes in the running world, too, and it isn't new. I was a big Zola Budd fan, but her British citizenship was a fraud.

"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

erichollins

Aug 11, 08 13:35

Post #14 of 16 (138 views)

Re: Canadian Fencer [DawnT] [In reply to]	Can't Post

There is a female gymnast that used to compete for the USSR and she is now competing for Germany. On top of all of that, she is 33yo!
--
Patience isn't a virtue. Patience is a waste of my time.
http://trainingoferic.blogspot.com/

cuds

Aug 11, 08 13:44

Post #15 of 16 (129 views)

Re: Canadian Fencer [erichollins] [In reply to]	Can't Post

33! That's amazing!!!

It's too bad this thread had to sink into a debate. I was more hoping we could just celebrate the accomplishments of an aging athlete!
_____________________________________
Stop being such a scrotetard and htfu!

IAMike

Aug 11, 08 14:18

Post #16 of 16 (116 views)

Re: Canadian Fencer [cuds] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I saw a little bit about the 33yo gymnast, but didn't watch the whole thing. She was on the last USSR team (they called it the Unified Team or something???) before most of her current team was born. I suppose that was either the 88 or 92 Olympics.

Not to add more fuel to the debate, but no one has complained about a certain US long distance runner who hopes to get gold in the 1500 and 5000. But I'm sure that's an entirely different situation than the others.