How Enzo Lefort got over losing to Hong Kong fencer Cheung Ka-long in his home Olympics
The French Olympic and world champion is a man of many other talents who says he ‘always sees my glass as half full’
After winning the first of his three Olympic medals in Rio in 2016, fencer Enzo Lefort hung around in the Brazilian city for nine more days.
“I partied for eight of them,” said Lefort, who won a silver in the team foil event in Brazil. “The day we got the medal, I went to the French house and partied until 6am; I got back to the village at 7.”
Last year, in a Paris Olympics competition staged a few kilometres from his apartment, Lefort lost the closing three points in a 15-14 quarter-final defeat by Hong Kong’s Cheung Ka-long.
It must have taken some time to recover from that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for home Olympic glory being so brutally ripped away?
“No … about one hour,” Lefort said. “I’m a pragmatic person. I was sad and frustrated, but after about 50 minutes a friend came to see me and we had a laugh.
“Afterwards, I went to a park close to the Grand Palais [fencing venue] with two close friends, my parents, wife and daughter. My daughter didn’t care I’d lost; she wanted to hold my hand and to go on my shoulders. I was exhausted but I played games with her.
“When I lost I knew I had another shot at a medal with my teammates [they claimed bronze].”