Lydia Fabry, resident of Simi Valley, California, takes home her 3rd individual gold medal in the women’s veteran 60 saber tournament and helps sweep a second gold medal for the USA Fencing Team in this year’s Veteran Fencing World Championships.
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — She only started fencing for a couple of years while in her 40s, inspired by her teenage daughter’s love of the sport, and then returned to fencing in her 50s for fun and to help stay in shape. Now, Lydia Fabry, a multi-medaling saber fencer, did it again this year at age 64 to bring home her third gold medal and regaining the title of Veteran World Champion in women’s’ veteran 60 saber. The last time she took gold and the World Champion title was in 2019 when competing in Cairo, Egypt.
While fencing is not a well-known or easily understood sport, it was one of the original sports to be included and remain as part of the modern Olympic Games. The sport itself includes three different competition weapons, the foil, which is considered the dueling weapon, the epee, which was designed to draw first blood, and the saber, which is the cutting weapon used by the cavalry and Zorro! All of these events will play out at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris next year and in Los Angeles in 2028.
Fabry first learned to fence in foil but those helping to teach her noticed she would move too fast and was incorporating sloppy footwork. They had her try saber, her footwork got better, and the rest has been history. In the 14 years as a Veteran fencer, Fabry has qualified for nine World Championships and taken home medals in gold, silver and bronze.
This year was a tough one for Fabry. She broke her foot accidentally while playing around with pickle ball which took her out of being able to compete in a much needed springtime National event. However, she was able to pull the points needed at the final Summer Nationals event to qualify as a member the 2023 US Women’s Saber Team. Due to personal issues, Fabry was not able to make the 2022 world team but says her proudest moment this year, “was when I reminded last year’s World champion why I beat her in 2019.” She says, “I was so happy to get my feet back and help not only myself but also the team to fence smartly and take home those gold medals in both events.”
She trains in West Los Angeles at the Avant Garde Fencers Club and gets regular support from Coach Michael Costin. Fabry says that Coach Costin said, “you don’t need luck to win,” as she was leaving to travel to her event. She took that as a sign that she could and would do well.
This year’s World event was a first for USA Fencing on many levels including being hosted on its own soil and topping the medal count from previous years for a total of 24 medals including 13 gold. The women’s saber team also swept the gold medals across individual and team fencing events for another historic moment for the USA. The last time was in 2015, when Lydia Fabry was also a team member.
The tournament took place in Daytona Beach, Florida and lasted six days while the world’s top Veteran fencers competed in 24 events for men and women in individual and team competitions. Next year’s veteran World fencing event will be held in Dubai, a popular city in the United Arab Emirates.
Fabry’s next goal, she says, “to do it all again next year!”
Media Contact
Lydia Fabry, Search Visible, Inc., 1 505-310-2226, fabry.lydia@gmail.com
SOURCE Lydia Fabry
