When and where did you begin this sport?

She began fencing at age 11.

Why this sport?

She tried a number of sports, including dancing and taekwondo, before finding fencing. "I was interested in taekwondo and so I did it all the way until I was age 11 and I got my black belt. But then my mother still wanted me to dance and in between she made me do ice skating. I liked it, but I was not so good at it. And then my father stepped in and said, 'Why don't you try fencing?' Fencing is like the ballet of sports, it is very elegant. I really, really liked fencing so I started it at age 11."

When and where did you begin this sport?

He began fencing at high school in Echizen, Japan. He initially took up foil, but switched to epee after entering university.

Why this sport?

He played volleyball in middle school, but he began fencing at high school following encouragement from his father.

When and where did you begin this sport?

She began fencing at age eight. She started training seriously at age 10 in Kurchatov, Russian Federation.

Why this sport?

A fencing coach came to her school and recommended that she take up the sport. "I had a choice - to begin either fencing or rhythmic gymnastics. At that time I had no idea of what foil fencing was. I went there for company with a classmate, and thought to myself, 'I'll go to a couple of training sessions out of curiosity, and then I'll switch to gymnastics'. But it happened that I never got to gymnastics again."

When and where did you begin this sport?

He took up the sport at age six at the Circolo Scherma Terni club in Italy.

Why this sport?

He followed his older brother into the sport. "I fell in love with the sport and the people I met - maybe that's why I lost my head in fencing."

When and where did you begin this sport?

She began fencing at age 14 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Why this sport?

She played the piano when she was younger, but she came to dislike it. Her older brother was already involved in fencing and she decided to follow him into the sport. "When I was 14, my older brother Grigoriy encouraged me to do fencing, for which I am very grateful. It was rather late [to start training in] our sport. It took me two years to try and understand."

When and where did you begin this sport?

He first tried fencing while he was in primary school. He took up the sport competitively in 2009 at Maebong Middle School in Daejeon, Republic of Korea.

Why this sport?

He was influenced by his older brother. His parents initially did not want him to get involved in the sport but they were persuaded to let him pursue it after coach Park Jong-Han identified his talent.