Kenya's fencing queen: Alexandra Ndolo rides on borrowed equipment to win African title
Paris 2024 Olympics - Fencing - Women's Epee Individual Table of 32 - Grand Palais, Paris, France - July 27, 2024. Alexandra Ndolo of Kenya in action against Olena Kryvytska of Ukraine.
Kenyan Olympian Alexandra Ndolo is hoping to use a hat-trick of African titles as a springboard to winning the world title.
Ndolo won Africas' individual title in the epee category of the African Fencing Championships held at the weekend in Lagos, and hopes to carry the momentum to the 71st edition of the World Fencing Championships scheduled for July 22 to 30 in Tbilisi, Georgia. She has won the African title three times - in 2023, 2024, and this year.
Kenya's fencing queen Alexandra Ndolo during the interview on NTV sports show SportOn at Nation Centre, Nairobi on April 01, 2024.
Fencing is an Olympic combat sport that features sword fighting in three categories; epee, foil and sabre. Unlike the foil and sabre categories, epee category allows for simultaneous touches to the body and has no concept of right of way. It means both fencers can score a point if they hit a target within a very short time frame.
Ndolo’s triumph in Lagos came on the backdrop of a mishap. After misplacing her luggage in Paris en route to Lagos, the 38-year-old used borrowed equipment and retained her Africa individual epee crown.
Ndolo, who claimed the silver medal in the epee category at the 2022 World Fencing Championships, beat Egyptian Nardin Ehab 13-7 to win her third successive continental title.
In Lagos, fencers from South Africa (mask), Morocco (epées and body wires), Cote D’Ivoire (chest protector) and Nigeria (shoes) came to the rescue to provide her with competition equipment.
Kenya's fencing queen Alexandra Ndolo during the interview on NTV sports show SportOn at Nation Centre, Nairobi on April 01, 2024.
“In all honesty, this was a pan African win. When I arrived in Lagos on Tuesday night, my baggage did not. It was left behind in Paris,” Ndolo said, adding that her efforts to get her luggage from the airline proved futile.
“What happened next was a true testimony of the closely-knit family that we are in fencing. Thanks to all of them, I successfully defended my title,” Ndolo, who has now shifted her focus to preparing for the world championships in Tbilisi, said.
Ndolo claimed a silver medal at the world championships in Cairo in 2022, losing to Yu Sihan of China 14-13 in the final. At the time, she competed as a German citizen before taking up Kenyan citizenship in 2022.