New recruit Funke thrilled at fencing opportunity

WUHAN (GER) - Julika Funke, from Germany, has been training hard those last few days before the start of the fencing competition. Less than a month ago, her training regime looked strikingly different.

Marching, gun handling and pitching a tent were some of the skills the German learned during a month-long camp that gave her a military rank.

“It was a really cool new experience I had, wearing the uniform and learning how to walk in a group and how to march. It was cool",said Funke, who will turn 19 today.

Funke took part in the camp in September, shortly before leaving for Wuhan where she will compete in the women’s sabre event.

“We had to wake up at five o’clock in the morning. Then you have to get up, get dressed and then they check your uniform. If everything is OK, you go for breakfast”, she declared about her typical routine. “You learn to handle a gun and how to build up a tent outside. It was interesting for sure.”

The military drills were a new experience for Funke, who started fencing at the age of nine and went from club to club until being offered the opportunity to focus on the sport full-time with the support of the German Army.

“As a sportsman in Germany, you don’t earn any money at all when you’re a fencer, so the military is a big opportunity to keep on fencing", she said. "You don’t have to do a job on the side because the military is your job and they support you in many different ways and you can totally focus on your sport".

Funke trained six times a week, for three hours each day, to prepare for the CISM Military World Games, which will be one of her biggest competitions to date.

“It’s way bigger and a special event. Many people told me it’s like the Olympic Games”, said Funke on of how the Games differ from the previous competitions she has taken part in. The people who come here are all very, very good fencers. It’s just a little pool of starters, but they’re all very strong so the ranking is very high. It means a lot for me to be here.”

The fencing competition of the 7th CWG will start tomorrow, October 19, at the Wuhan City Polytechnic Gymnasium, while the women’s sabre competition will take place on Sunday October 20.

(Source: SUMOC – Executive Committee - Editor NIE Yang)