Wonder Woman of the Week: Azza Besbes
A classic quote claims that "those who live by the sword die by the sword," but for this week's Wonder Woman that couldn't be further from the truth. Azza Besbes was born in the United Arab Emirates in 1990 to parents from Tunisia, and spent her childhood doing the same thing all of her siblings did- fencing. Three of those sword-fighting children would later become Olympic fencers (including little Azza). That's no surprise considering their dad was a former professional basketball player turned physical education teacher and their mother was a former fencer turned referee. The family returned to Tunisia in time for Azza to join a fencing club in her parents' home country before the club permanently closed due to a lack of funding. That didn't stop the Besbes children though. Azza trained with the Tunisian national team for two years before moving to France to join more financially stable clubs as part of a program with the Tunisian Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Fencing in France paid off for Azza Besbes because she developed her skill and rose through the ranks so quickly that she qualified for the Junior World Fencing Championships and took home the silver medal in the All-Africa Games in 2007. In 2008, Besbes represented Tunisia at the Beijing Olympics- all during an era when new electric equipment in the sport often marred competitions and skewed results. She became the first African fencer to reach the quarter finals in fencing at the Olympics- losing to Becca Ward in the quarter-finals in a sudden death, over-time conclusion. It would not be her last or best Olympic result. Besbes earned ninth place in 2012 at the London Games before finishing fifth at the 2016 Rio Olympics- losing 15-14 against French fencer (and Wonder Woman of the Week alum Manon Brunet) in the quarter-finals. The following year, Besbes earned the silver medal at the World Championships and- in doing so- became the first person to earn a medal in each age category of the fencing world championships.
Azza Besbes retired from competitive fencing the following year to further her education. Besbes earned her Bachelor's degree in Information Systems Engineering before earning her Master's degree in Operational and Financial Performance Management. Tunisia is one of only a handful of African nations adopting the European sport of fencing (which technically did get its start in Egypt... and African nation), but- unlike other African fencing nations- Tunisia is rapidly becoming a powerhouse in the sport. Tunisian fencers are reaching the podium in international competitions like the World Championships and the Olympics thanks to the early role models of the sport like Azza Besbes who are inspiring youth to take up the sport.
Comments