In 2022, after winning silver and bronze medals at the European and World Fencing Championships for Germany, Alexandra Ndolo decided to switch to Kenya, her father’s birthplace. When she competed at the World Cup in the same year, became the country’s first professional fencer to do so. She spoke to Olympics.com about her Kenyan heritage and why she made the change:
This summer, I was thinking, ‘Okay, if you really want to achieve one more thing, apart from being involved in the sport politics, what could you do? Well, you could, and you should win medals for Kenya’. And for Germany. I think I’ve done a lot and maybe all that I can do.”
“But for Kenya, everything I do now will be a first and will be a major boost not just for Kenyan fencing, but East African and African fencing.”
Alexandra Ndolo
I hope to see her at the Olympics in Paris this year. A medal would be a phenomenal accomplishment, for herself, her nation, and the continent of Africa.