Monday May 29, 2000
The Ottawa CitizenSchalm captures World Cup fencing gold
Sherraine Schalm of Ottawa's Excalibur Fencing Club won the
gold medal in women's epee yesterday in a senior World Cup event in Seville, Spain.
Schalm's triumph marked the first victory by a Canadian
woman in any World Cup fencing event. Among Canadian men, only Quebecer Jean-Marc
Chouinard reached a similar level, in men's epee.
Schalm defeated Germany's Claudia Bokel in the final bout,
by 15 touches to 13. She had previously defeated Cuban, Dutch and Spanish fencers in the
earlier rounds.
"I succeeded in using my whole technical palette,
which allowed me to defeat four opponents with very different styles" Schalm said.
"I surprised everyone, including the organizers, who
did not even have the Canadian national anthem on hand to play at the medal
ceremony."
Her coach, Manuel Guittet, said: "This excellent
result will give her all her confidence back, after a mixed season. A gold medal at the
Olympic Games is now very realistic, even if Sherraine will not be the favorite in
Sydney."
Schalm will compete in another World Cup event next weekend
at Welkenraedt, Belgium, missing the Canadian championships in Quebec City.
She will come back in Ottawa to train for the summer in
preparation for the Olympic Games, which start in mid-September.
Reprinted with permission
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