Sherraine Schalm wins silver medal
Canadas best ever result at world fencing championships
Montreal, October 5, 2009 Sherraine Schalm of Ottawa earned Canadas best ever result at the world fencing championships on Monday winning the silver medal in the womens epee event at the competition held in Antalya, Turkey. Schalm, whose previous best was third at the 2005 worlds, lost 9-8 in the final to Lubov Shutova of Russia. Anfisa Pochkalova of Ukraine and Sonja Tol of the Netherlands won the bronze medals.
The score was tied 8-8 after regulation. Shutova scored her winning point 20 seconds into overtime. I was completely worn out entering overtime, said Schalm. I was hoping I could capitalize on a mistake but I should have been more daring and provoked her. I gave everything I had.
Schalm burst into tears when the bout ended.
I am physically and mentally exhausted, thats why I cried and why I still want to cry, but inside I feel joy. All year I had subpar results. But I had decided to focus primarily for the worlds and its a great feeling to get on the podium. Maybe thats my strategy for the 2012 Olympics in London.
A new Schalm
For the last two years, Schalm has sought advice from a psychologist. We had a lot of discussions about anger, she said. I am a passionate person but now I can stay under control. My life is also more balanced. Im married, I wrote a book, I feel fulfilled.
Schalm also praised Fencing Canada. It helps to have strong leadership in Canada. We are treated like professionals. Our national coach, Gabor Salamon is not overbearing. I’ve been fencing for 22 years. He knows what works. It’s not perfect, but better than 3rd, maybe next time, I’ll do better.
Danek Nowosielski, high performance director for Fencing Canada, predicted gold for Schalm. She was in her zone from the first bout on and missed the gold by one touch, he said. We are getting encouraging results and I think we can give a lot of credit to the Canadian Olympic Committees Road to Excellence program. It isnt always popular when you aim to be the best, but it pays off in the end.
Nowosielski was also pleased with Joseph Polossifakis of Montreal placing 25th in mens sabre in his worlds debut at age 19. That augurs well for the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, Nowosielski said.