Fencing’s newest teenage star Jaelyn Liu talks Olympic goals, Chinese parents and ballet
At 15 years and 10 months, Jaelyn Liu’s victory in Hong Kong makes her youngest winner of a World Cup event, and she’s just getting started
Newly crowned Foil World Cup champion Jaelyn Liu wrote her name into the fencing record books on Saturday, and then immediately set her sights on representing the United States at the Los Angeles Olympics in three years.
At 15 years and 10 months, Liu became the youngest winner of a World Cup stop when she triumphed in Hong Kong on Saturday, but said she still had a lot to learn from compatriot and world No 1 Lee Kiefer, who she beat en route to a maiden senior title.
From the preliminary pool stage, world No 93 Liu lost only once in her 13 bouts at the AsiaWorld-Expo over two days, and she got the better of four world top 20 foilists in the main draw over the course of six hours.
“I didn’t really have any expectations [coming to Hong Kong], I just wanted to fence my best, attack like a fighter because I got top 32 in my last senior World Cup in Busan [last month],” Liu said. “I just wanted to hit the same goal, but the main thing was just to fence my best.
“I was so young and I was kind of inexperienced, so this was really like unexpected for me. I’m very fulfilled and happy now because I didn’t expect this. This is like crazy, I’m really excited.”
Her biggest scalp came in the round of 32 when she beat two-time Olympic gold medallist Kiefer 15-13, but the teenager was not getting carried away with the notable win.
