the point WOMEN IN FENCING By Karolyn Szot
Athlete to Watch: Honor Johnson
WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF? Probably the accomplishment that I am most proud of is my admission to Princeton University where I will be a freshman in Fall 2022 and will fence on the women’s saber team. I am totally psyched for this next chapter of my life! Fencing-wise, I am a five-time Junior and Cadet Fencing World Championships team member (2019 cadet bronze individual medalist, 2021 junior silver team medalist). In January, I earned my first top-16 senior World Cup finish in Tbilisi, Georgia, a huge milestone. WHAT GOT YOU INTO FENCING? I tried virtually every sport – soccer, basketball, tennis, swimming, lacrosse and dance – before eventually quitting them in disinterest. One summer, my mom signed me up for a fencing summer camp. Despite what I now recall was an insanely difficult learning curve, I immediately fell in love with the mental and physical challenge of it and decided that it was what I was going to do. WHAT IS ANOTHER PASSION OF YOURS BESIDES FENCING? WHAT BENEFITS DOES IT GIVE YOU? A passion of mine besides fencing is learning Arabic and gaining exposure to the cultures in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. During the pandemic, school via Zoom, reduced access to training, and practically no competitions left me with idle time. I decided to begin learning a new language independent of school and actually spent a month last summer in Amman, Jordan, living with a host family and studying intensive Arabic. I am considering a career in foreign economic policy so learning a critical language like Arabic and increasing cultural literacy are essential. I also love hiking and backpacking, which have taken me to some pretty cool places like Alaska and the Galápagos. I have a trip to Iceland on the radar for this summer.
52 AMERICAN FENCING B
WHAT DO YOU EAT BEFORE AND DURING A COMPETITION? I am definitely a beast when it comes to fueling up before competitions. I probably eat the equivalent of two dinners, loading up on carbs such as pasta or rice and lean proteins like fish or chicken the night before. The day of, I always eat a light breakfast that includes oatmeal and scrambled eggs. I fence my best when I don’t have food weighing me down. My go-to snacks during competitions are bananas, seaweed and turkey jerky. I love Epic chicken bites, too. DURING THE PANDEMIC, WHAT KEPT YOU MOTIVATED? IN THE WORST TIMES OF COVID-19, HOW DID YOU TRAIN? During the pandemic the thought that there would be another competition kept me motivated, despite not knowing when that next competition might come. I wanted to be ready. I remember during the worst times of COVID I was training in my living room with a makeshift dummy that one of my mentors made for me and taking private lessons virtually on Zoom. Some ’70s tunes and old-school hip-hop tracks were definitely on the playlist to keep me pumped up. Think Bee Gees and Biggie with a little 2Pac!
