How were the months after the Games?
Sara Balzer: It was planned to be cut until October. And we postponed the recovery because I felt that I needed more time. Paris was so huge, so much happened that the body and mind still needed time to digest and decompress. I didn’t want to skip ahead, come back and maybe be disgusted a few months later. It was important for me too to experience all these emotions. There was also the frustration of not winning in the final. There’s a lot to get out there. So time was my ally. I wanted to want to come back. (Regarding the Tunis Grand Prix), I am not ready either physically or fencing-wise. But I wanted to go there, I really miss it. So I try to do big assault sessions to accumulate as much fencing as possible even if I won’t make up for the past six months.
SB: The world championships in July (in Tbilisi, Georgia, editor’s note). It’s my goal to be world champion. That gives me time to prepare before then. It’s a nice title to get, so it motivates me.
In the end, what did these Paris Games teach you?
SB: I think that the stress we experienced, we will never experience again, honestly, it was superhuman. I don’t know how I managed all of this. So the stress, the emotions, the stakes, being at home in front of everyone, being the favorite, it was a lot to manage. We train for 10 years for one day, so there is also the acceptance that maybe things will go wrong, but that doesn’t define us. And above all, what I learned was that the journey was important, and not so much the arrival. What I was able to learn as an athlete, as a woman, it was crazy.
We also talk about the search for sponsors after the Games, how did that go for you?
SB: Most of my contracts ended after the Games. It’s often like that, we sign contracts, for the Olympics, or sometimes for just one year. I am lucky that almost all my partners are following me for the next Olympics. We were able to build relationships during these years, and I am very happy to see that even if Paris is over, they are still motivated to follow me.
How are they essential for making a living from fencing?
SB: We have a professional sport, but unfortunately we do not have the salaries of professional sports. I don’t have a salary from my federation or my club, so I have aid, city and regional subsidies, which do not allow me to meet all my needs. It is essential that I have private partnerships. This is another hat that you must wear as a high-level athlete: knowing how to sell yourself, knowing how to speak, the image on social networks is also important. I find it interesting, in the sense that it’s another experience, but it’s not easy for everyone, not everyone is comfortable. I also work within companies, so it’s interesting.
And how did you learn to tame this cap?
SB: I quickly understood that fencing is very expensive, as are the seasons, and that at the beginning, the parents pay. My goal was clearly to be independent, to be able to provide for myself. I like social networks, it’s a place where I’m comfortable, so for me, in any case, this part was quite easy, to share my daily life, to show what I was doing, it’s was the cool part. And then, the rest, the interventions, the discussions, the speaking times, that can be learned. I learned that on the job, by doing this kind of exercise.
