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Hi Sabrina! – it’s great to meet you. Tell us about yourself and your background.
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I’m an Olympic fencer for Team USA having competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics where our team placed 4th. I’ve been fencing for more than 20 years and come from a family of Olympic fencers (both my brother and my dad are also Olympians in fencing). I currently have my sight set on qualifying for the LA 2028 Olympic Team and am training to make that goal. 

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Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as a Team USA fencer and what inspired you to aim for the 2028 LA Olympics? 

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My journey as a Team USA fencer has been a bit of a rollercoaster. Since 2018, I’ve battled through 4 serious injuries requiring surgery (a broken foot, torn hip labrum, and 2 torn ACLs). Because of this, I have been in and out of competition while recovering from these injuries/surgeries. In tandem with these injuries, I’ve fought through some very serious mental health challenges.

I’m aiming for the 2028 LA Olympics because despite all of my physical and mental setbacks, I feel that they ultimately have helped me grow into a better and more equipped person and athlete to take on and perform at another Olympics. I’m ready to take all the obstacles I have fought through and use them to transform how I approach my training and competition, rebuilding myself as a stronger and more resilient athlete to take on the Olympics a second time around. 

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Fencing seems like such a fast-paced and intense sport. How do you stay focused and calm during competitions?

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Staying focused and maintaining control of your mental game is an incredibly important aspect in fencing. For me, listening to music to help tune out everything around me is really helpful in maintaining focus. I’ll also talk to myself under my breath to remind myself to breathe, stay focused and confident, and keep myself grounded. Using the Flare (Calmer) Performance ear inserts have also been really helpful while I’m actually training/fencing to tune out my surroundings while staying calm and concentrated. 

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We know you experience sound sensitivities. How have Flare products helped you manage this, both in training and everyday life?

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Flare products have honestly been a complete game-changer for me. The calmer and calmer extras are my daily go-tos and reduce my anxiety while preventing me from getting overstimulated from all the surrounding sounds. This has helped keep feelings of daily burn out at bay. In training, especially with fencing having so many sounds from the beeping of the scoring machines to the clanking sounds of blades hitting each other, the Flare (Calmer) Performance has been a huge help in reducing my stress while I’m training so that I can stay focused and not have the additional burden of anxiety caused by my sound sensitivity that can lead me to become distracted and reactive. 

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What does a typical training day look like for you as you work toward your Olympic goals?

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Each training day will look a little different depending on the specific day and week and whether it’s leading up to a competition, etc. For a full-blown training day-mornings will include around 2 hours of strength and conditioning, followed by about 30 minutes of recovery (stretching, icing, etc.). The afternoon and evening training is dedicated to fencing-specific training. This includes about a 45 minute one-on-one skills lesson with my coach, followed by 30-45 minutes of footwork and drills, and then a 2 hour sparring practice. This is again, followed up with another 30 min recovery session. 

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If you could give one piece of advice to young athletes who face sensory challenges, what could it be? 

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I think as athletes, we are trained to push through adversity and discomfort. For a long time, I treated my sensory challenges in the same way - which had significant negative impacts on my quality of life and my training/performance as an athlete. My advice for young athletes facing sensory challenges is to listen and be in tune with your body, and don’t be afraid to accommodate those challenges. Share your experience and challenges with friends and family, find tools and resources that work for you, and allow yourself those accommodations. Sensory challenges do not reflect weakness you need to force yourself to push through.