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 and I really, really liked it."

When and where did you begin this sport?

He began fencing in 2008.

Why this sport?

He was involved in artistic gymnastics when he was younger, but switched sports after watching Japanese fencer Yuki Ota win a silver medal in individual foil at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He started out in foil before changing to epee while he was in high school after winning an epee tournament.

When and where did you begin this sport?

She began fencing at age seven in Guadeloupe. She moved to mainland France to join the national youth training hub [Pole Espoir] in Aix-en-Provence at age 17, and a year later she joined the national team training base at the National Institute of Sport, Expertise and Performance [INSEP] in Paris.

Why this sport?

"My mother took my brother and me to discover fencing. At the time, I was doing classical dance. I was truly a little princess. Initially, this introduction to the sport was intended more for my brother. It turned out I liked it straight away, and I quickly got a taste for competition. It became an addiction. Making a hit, defeating my opponent, I was no longer a ballerina but a fighter. In Guadeloupe, I got to a point where there was no more opposition, so I had to leave [for mainland France], to keep growing as a fencer. The federation put a little pressure on me on the subject. They said, 'If you do not take the step to come to France, you are putting your career in danger'. I wanted to be the best, so I left when I was 17. I had no family in mainland France."

When and where did you begin this sport?

He began fencing at age seven at his father's club in San Francisco, CA, United States of America.

Why this sport?

"My father was an Olympian in fencing. When he set up his own club, I wanted to start right away."

When and where did you begin this sport?

She began fencing at age nine.

Why this sport?

She was encouraged to try the sport by her parents, and went to a fencing class where her father coached. She took up foil in grade three of primary school, but competed in sabre at a competition which had a prize of a jigsaw puzzle. She then switched to sabre before starting middle school.

When and where did you begin this sport?

He began fencing at age 13.

Why this sport?

"This sport is the sport of my family. My father, my brother - they were all engaged in fencing. And I also really wanted to be on a par with them. At first I played football, but once I happened to be at the Georgian fencing championship, and I liked what my brother and father did. It was love at first sight."