John Wright from Ottawa, Ontario took home gold this past weekend at the FIE Men’s Epee Satellite tournament in Dublin, Ireland.

The road to the top of the podium was challenging.  Wright faced four top Italian fencers along the way in difficult bouts that went to all three periods.  “For me personally it was a big win because of the huge respect that I had for the competition,” noted Wright, who is attending law school at University College Dublin (UCD) in Dublin, Ireland while continuing to train and compete in fencing.

“I owe thanks to the UCD Fencing Team and their coaches, especially Eamonn McGrattan who was my piste coach on the day, “stated Wright who has been fortunate to be able to train with Pentathlon Ireland fencers and fencers from other clubs all around the country. Wright also credits his win due to assistance from Marcus Wehr at the UCD High Performance Gym who allows him to do his physical training with the best athletes at his school. “On Saturday I had to do two rounds of poules and five emotionally and physically draining elimination matches,” noted Wright. “I was completely shattered at the end of the day but I think my physical preparation helped me to hide that.”

A product of the Ottawa Fencing Club, Wright is especially pleased to be able to share his win with his Ottawa coaches and teammates, particularly his long-time coach, Parviz Haghendish.  Said Wright, “Thanks to Parviz Haghendish for the blood sweat and tears he has put into my development and the development of all his students. It hurts me when I have a bad competition and I feel that I haven’t demonstrated how professionally coached I am.” Wright also thanks Ottawa Fencing Club Coach Paul ApSimon for “calling me out every once in a while to keep me motivated.”

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