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Ndolo is ranked eighth in the International Fencing Federation.
German-born Kenyan fencer Alexandra Ndolo has plans to make Kenya a house hold name when it comes to the fencing sport.
Ndolo, who was initially representing Germany, switched to Kenya last year. Ndolo was one of the founding members of the Kenya Fencing Federation which was established in 2019. She also doubles up as a Foreign Affairs Representative.
Ndolo said introducing the sport in the country was not much of a hustle considering there were few athletes who had already shown interest in the sport.
“It was a no brainer for me to come back to Kenya and my first initiative was how to establish a federation. I wanted to bring back a sport that has brought me so much joy back home.
Every time I travelled back here most people would ask me about the sport and I felt it was time to introduce it to the country. I want to put Kenyan fencing on the world map…I want to be the trail blazer,” she said, as quoted by Nation Sport.
Ndolo is keen on ensuring the young athletes have essential training equipment because that’s the major challenge they encounter. She revealed that by 2028, she hopes every county in the country will have a fencing club.
“Kenya has the talent, the only thing missing is a certain infrastructure and equipment but we are working on that. I want to be a role model to these young children. Whenever I come I bring donations from Germany,” she said.
Her decision to switch allegiance was not an easy one as she faced a lot of backlash from people. She revealed that there were so many stereotypic comments made about her switch her mind was already set.
The 2017 European Fencing Championships silver medallist attested that it has been a tough balancing act to balance between officiating roles and being a player.
“I have already made the decision to switch and going back is not an option. Our main focus now is to better the sport and make strides to the right direction. We want to see how we can get into competitions,” she said, adding that her main focus going forward is to qualify for the Paris Olympics in 2024.
It took four years for the federation to be established and Ndolo noted that the main challenge was that the National Olympics Committee of Kenya and the World Fencing Federation had not affiliated them.
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