16 present or former Princeton students are in the 2012 London Olympics. Soren Thompson, Class of 2005, fencing – epee, United States: Thompson was a three-time all-America fencer at Princeton. He competed in the 2004 Olympics in Athens and will begin competition in individual epee beginning Aug. 1.
THIS VIDEO: www.dcfencing.com
In this video, Olympic fencers from the USA and the world showcased their skills at the 2012 Fencing Masters Spectator Tournament in New York City, June 24, 2012. I asked members of Team USA and other Olympians to give their best advice for fencers. Huge thanks to all the Team USA fencers for their time, to Team USA member Tim Morehouse for organizing a spectacular event to promote fencing, and to my club, DC Fencers Club, for introducing me to such an amazing sport./n7/25/12
Instead of closed captioning, here is a transcript for "Ask an Olympic Fencer" /nWhat's the best advice you ever gave -- or got -- as a fencer?/nTim Morehouse: You know, I think with fencing, anything, you have to set a high bar and really believe in yourself. Find the best teachers you can, and the best teammates you can, or friends. If you have those elements, I think you can go pretty far. /nRace Imboden: My mother's advice, to take everything one touch at a time./nMiles Chamley-Watson: You know all you can ask for is the opportunity, and once you have the opportunity you can do what you want with it. So, that's the best advice I ever got. /nDaryl Homer: Keep your head down, and keep working hard. It's a really long road, it's a really long journey ... there are more downs than ups, but you have to stay focused, and keep going./nBolade Apithy (translated from French): Always hang on, stay focused on your goals, strive for success, and have fun. Everyone can get there. Get pumped! Work out!/nDagmara Wozniak: The best advice is to take a loss. I think that learning how to take a loss is a very important thing. It's not just, you throw your hands up in the air and say "I suck" or to be negative about yourself. You just got to understand that yes, there are things that you did wrong, but there's also ... Let's say you lost a bout, 15-13. There are 13 things that you did correctly. So, to focus on that, and say, maybe I need to capitalize on those things, or you tried to switch too many times. So, I think it's taking a loss but looking at it in a positive light is one of the greatest advices that I ever received in fencing./nSoren Thompson: I would say ... trust yourself as an athlete. You have to go out there, and there's really only you ultimately on the strip. You can't look to external sources, whether it's the referee, or your parents, or your coach, or your teammates. It's really you out there, you have to take responsibility for your own preparation and what you to do when the moment calls for it during a match. It's on you to prepare and be ready for that. So, just shoulder that responsibility, embrace it, and enjoy it, and do what you need to do, what you know deep down that you need to do to prepare and be ready. I say that's what we all need to do as athletes.

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