Athlete of the Issue: LHS boasts highly successful fencer

November 6, 2018

By Christina Li and Sarah Liu

Lexington Compliments is a social media platform at Lexington High School that strives to spread positivity. They recently posted about Emme Zhou, a senior. She was described as a “fencing LEGEND” and a “goddess.”

Emme Zhou, captain of the Lexington Fencing Club, is an internationally ranked fencer. She started at the age of nine, and has been fencing for eight years.

Time commitment is necessary for any sport, and fencing is no exception. For Zhou, fencing requires hours of training every week, and many missed days of school from travel. Initially, the level of commitment was difficult to manage.

“It used to be very stressful to have to train and travel so much, but now I think I’ve learned to balance my mental health, friends, school work, and other activities pretty well,” Zhou said.

Zhou describes the time she has invested in the sport as rewarding. She has been among the top 5 fencers in her age group nationally for the past three years and is a regular attendee of international competitions.

Along with the high rankings she has achieved, the activity has brought emotional fulfillment. Her experience in the sport makes her a valuable mentor for younger fencers, and she enjoys teaching them. As a captain, she strives towards making the community tight-knit and supportive, citing time spent with her team as some of her best experiences in the sport.

“I love working hard with my teammates and improving together. A really meaningful memory that I have as a fencer is traveling to Europe for the first time for a tournament with the US team. We cheered each other on and it really felt like a cohesive team, which I really enjoyed,” Zhou said.

While the sport has been gratifying for Zhou, the demanding and highly competitive lifestyle has created challenges for her along the way. Nevertheless, she has persisted.

“It’s really frustrating when you haven’t done well in a while, but I always remember that nothing comes easy. Perseverance is actually the key,” Zhou said.

The many ups and downs of fencing in Zhou’s life through the years have helped her gain valuable insight into her capabilities not only an athlete, but as a person.

“One strength that I learned throughout the years was to have a strong mindset. When I was young, I used to freak out if I was losing. Now I can remain calm and have a clear mind when I’m fencing. This has also made me more calm and collected when I face difficult situations outside of fencing,” Zhou said.