Nana Akoto

What has been the highlight of the season so far?

“I think it’s been the competitions. We drive pretty far away, but then we get to play a lot of people. In a day, we get to compete several times because we start early. At a team competition I might fence like five to six teams; three people on each team. In individual, you fence people in a pool that’s selected to your skill set and that’s about six people. If you do really well there, the actual medal competition is later and you might fence five people at a time.”

What do you feel your role has been within the team?

“I actually have a pretty big role because there’s not that many of us on the team. I’m just a team player. I work with the rest of the team for warm up and a quick game. Then I practice rounds with the members of both men and women’s épée to prepare for the upcoming competition.”

What are your goals for the season?

“I would like to become a more experienced fencer. I want to work on my footwork. There’s a lot of things you can choose to do within the competition. You have to just ‘fill it out’ to make sure you’re doing the right steps.”