After a thirty-two-year losing streak, the USA has won an Olympic medal in fencing at Rio.
At the Rio 2016 games the silver medal went to Greek-American Alexander Massialas, who took a year off from his studies at Stanford to train for the games; a decision that paid off.
Alexander was emotional as he came so close to becoming the first ever American fencer to win a gold medal in an individual men’s foil, sabre or epee tournament.
His father, Greek immigrant Greg Massialas who was born in Crete, is also his coach and a former Olympian in fencing himself.
“I told him, ‘I’m so proud of you,’” his father told him afterwards, according to sports.yahoo.com.
“It meant the world to me, and I don’t know how I’d ever repay my dad,” Alex said.
“I had to fight back tears receiving the silver medal when I see my mom back in the stands trying to hug me from so far away,” Alex said as he spoke emotionally of his mother, Chwan-Hui Chen.
“Obviously my mom has been the silent force behind everything I do. She hates being in the limelight, but this is the one chance I have to thank her for everything she’s ever done for me. Driving me to fencing practice every single day. Encouraging me every step of the way, even when things got tough. Just giving me unconditional love in the 22 years I’ve been alive…She’s the secret hero no one talks about and I couldn’t be prouder to bring this back for her.”
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