2023-05-07 07:01:07
In our interview with the three-time Olympic champion swordsman, we also talked about the principles he brought from home, the teachings of sport, the “hand of God” and the importance of fair play.
What does fair play mean to you?
Due to my upbringing – and by this I mean my family, and what I received here in the fencing hall of Vasas – the desire to win was never the primary thing for me,
but to win in such a way as to remain human.
For example, I have never cheated or cheated in my life, not even on a high school paper.
I don’t know a student who has never tried a rifle in his life.
I have completed two levels of university, and I have really found that it is quite natural that everyone writes a rifle. I was always surprised by this, because it never occurred to me.
However, there is also a reasonable teacher’s explanation for rifle production, according to which rifle writing is an alternative to learning. After all, the fact that you describe the course material in a zanzanized way also means that you have certainly read it, and even written down the gist of it, and with that you have already acquired enough knowledge for at least two people.
These are just the thoughts that do not occur to me. I find this more of an excuse than a logically structured strategy.
How can you raise a child to be sportsmanlike and upright, what did you receive in this regard from your parents, what from your association, your coaches?
The values I received from my parents go beyond simply following the rules. I operate on this basis to this day, and for that I am immensely grateful to them. Rather, they are about principles, about the importance of family, humility, the ability to fight, sense of purpose, and modesty in life, which was reinforced by the environment of the fencing hall, where, in addition to all this, the spirit of fair play of the sport played a role. Although, maybe, these indispensable qualities for me often do not come across to others.
Have you ever been handed a tussle like you did in the final of the World Cup in Budapest?
Of course. Fencing is such a sport, it basically trains you for it. Recently, a German guy gave me back a hit with such a difference that he was leading in that ace. It happened a couple of weeks ago at the Italian championship that one of the two female duelists was injured while leading 12-9. There were twenty seconds left in the shot. The other did not take a single step forward, he let the injured one win, because he felt that his victory would no longer be fair. This also proves that in our sport, someone announcing “I’ve scored” despite the referee’s decision, is not common, but typical.
How do you feel when you know that your opponent is also aware that you gave the hit, for some reason the machine doesn’t signal the same way, but on the other side of the pass you only get a “old man, it’s bad luck” smile from under the helmet?
I don’t remember ever getting angry or having a conflict with my opponent in the event of such force majeure. You are not required to return this. There may be an unwritten rule, but there is certainly no written one. I’ll put this one on the bad luck list. I don’t know the answer to whether Sandro Bazadze would have returned the goal in a similar situation, but
I know that what I demand from myself, I don’t necessarily expect from my opponents.
Why do you think your sporting gesture towards your Georgian opponent got such a response, if cases like this are so common in your sport?
I myself was surprised how much the media picked up on the fact that I returned the ink that did not belong to me. But I attribute this to the fact that it happened in the finals of a domestic World Cup competition, in a losing situation. So it became newsworthy more because of the circumstances. On the other hand, it is important to emphasize that this decision does not shine on me. It was not for the purpose of being known not only as a champion, but as a champion with a fair play award. Is not the case. This is an important message for young people. In our society, the pressure towards success from all directions is so strong that the younger generation can believe that a person will only become a full-fledged person if they are successful. Of course, success and recognition are important. But it’s only good if you don’t have to give up your principles.
Couldn’t the case have been caught because you returned a hit to the fencer who has been most distressed in recent years?
Sandro Bazadze is one of the best fencers of today, that’s a fact. He is currently leading the world rankings. We fought in the semi-finals consecutively at the Olympics and World Championships. At the European Championship, he beat me in the round of 32, and then he won the European Championship. Of course, many things can be explained in retrospect in this story, including this one. For sure, I didn’t look at where, what kind of competition we were in, who my opponent was, how much the standings were. It was a completely natural, reflexive, self-identified behavior on my part. It was as if I had no influence on it, so I did not experience it as a decision situation, but as an automaticity: this ink does not belong to me, it must be returned.
I searched your Facebook and Instagram pages for the video of the slander against Bazadze, the photo report and article presenting the story of the tussle, but I couldn’t find it.
I don’t want to sound pretentious, but I don’t need to use a case like this to promote myself. My goal is not to increase my followers from 50 to 500 thousand. My online social activity doesn’t make me more or less, that’s not how I work. Therefore, since the MOB considered my action worthy of a fair play award, we only made one short thank you with my management. This is also solely because your message is good.
In the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup, Maradona hit the ball into the English goal without thinking. But I could also mention Thierry Henry, who in November 2009 also single-handedly decided the World Cup play-off against the Irish in favor of the French. After their goal scored illegally, both of them jumped in the air with self-deprecating joy. Why is fair play not as common in other sports as it is in fencing?
The question is complex. On the one hand, fencing is historically a “gentleman’s” sport. We still hear from our predecessors, the old greats, that in our sport back then, before the appearance of the scoring machine, it was appropriate to announce the tussle, and everyone fought in accordance with the spirit of fair play. Of course, I have strong doubts about whether this was really the case in all cases, but according to legends, the assos took place in this spirit. Times change, but I think the basic idea of fair play doesn’t change. What used to be ugliness and ugliness is still the same today, and the reverse is also true. This is one aspect. But you just gave an example from football…
I could have said other sports.
…but you can’t say much about other sports. I think soccer is a bit low in terms of clean play. I also regret this because it is the most watched, most loved sport followed by the most interested people. For this reason, football has the greatest influence on children, and that is why it would be best to see that someone does not fall inside the 16, just to trick the referee into the 11, to get a goal for his team, or not push the ball into the goal with your hand. Or, if you’ve already done either, say “sorry, but that wasn’t legal.” Of course, there are also fair play movements in football, and they can have a big impact, but I would like to see more of them, it would help a lot if we got more news about such cases. The example of Laura Sárosi – at the 2016 European Championships, she gave her shoes to her opponent so that he could play against her – or in tennis, where even though the linesman does not call out, the player still indicates that the opponent has served an ace – all these prove that that countless positive cases can be cited from various sports. Sport should have the task of educating for fair play.
It’s as if society doesn’t operate according to these principles nowadays. Don’t you feel that with this approach you are going against the everyday mainstream?
I don’t think I’m too idealistic. I work hard and seize opportunities following my own moral principles and rules. This is how I fight for my goals.
The negative examples of social pressure and public life today indicate that the one with the biggest vest, the biggest mouth, the one who unabashedly reaches out for unauthorized advantages, will get ahead and be more “successful”. Why did such a contradiction develop between sport, the basic thesis of the Olympic idea, fair play, and the reality of everyday life?
I don’t think there is a very big difference, a contradiction. Anyone who wants to be successful in the long term, who wants to build something, must build his or her own castle on professionalism, competence, diligence, knowledge, experience, and fairness in the world of work. Small short-term victories can be achieved by finding the shortest path on the running track or by deceiving your customer in business. But this does not lead to results in the long run. Sport teaches you exactly this: you have to train, you have to perform, and you have to show every day that you are better than the other.
To what extent should chivalry be a part, almost an essential part of life, of modern sport?
For sure, I’m not a chick. I’m straight. And I don’t mind that. It has never worked for me to defeat opponents by tricking them with unauthorized twists and tricks. I just can’t think of it. However, trickery is a basic requirement in my sport. After all, it’s about how to “fool” your opponent in order to find pace and space for a clear hit. In addition, there are the tricks that the old masters also used in order to confuse and startle the opponent. Well, that’s bullshit in a good way.
To stay with the football example: Maradona and the “Hand of God” hoax or fraud?
Well, that’s not cheating anymore, it’s cheating. A strong dividing line can and should be drawn here. Trickery is something that is not prohibited by the rules, an idea, a trick, a ruse, after which the opponent – even if he got the hook – can smile.
For example?
During ace, my opponent reaches the end of the board. I point down the line with my left hand, he looks down, and at that moment I cut him. It’s bullshit, but it’s not cheating, because I don’t break the rules, and my opponent will probably think that I was stupid, I ate this trick. Whereas if someone installs a button in their blade (such as the Soviet pentathlete Boris Onyushchenko, who fell at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal with this trick – ed.), and pressing it closes the circuit, so the hit indicator lights up without actually hitting the other one, that’s massively against-the-rules cheating.
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