Hungarian sabre-rattler Szilagyi eyes more Olympic gold

The 34-year-old is seeking a fourth sabre crown in Paris later this month

BUDAPEST:

Aron Szilagyi had some false starts sporting-wise but the sound of swords clashing set him on a path to becoming the first male fencer to win three Olympic individual titles.

Not content with that, the 34-year-old Hungarian is seeking a fourth sabre crown in Paris later this month.

As a child he tried gymnastics, tennis and badminton, but it was when he was running round an athletics track that his life-changing moment occurred.

He heard the "blades clattering" from the fencing hall.

"As a nine-year-old, I yanked on my mother's skirt until she took me in there," the 34-year-old told AFP between training sessions at the same Budapest venue.

A romantic at heart, Szilagyi said he was "struck by the elegance of the fencers, dressed in pure white, their movements, the atmosphere", which for him evoked "a distant era when honourable knights duelled."

The late Gyorgy Gerevich, a renowned coach and son of Hungarian fencing legend Aladar Gerevich, was a formative figure in Szilagyi's career.

"He came to promote the sport in our primary school... he made some kind of joke, he was kind and charming, which convinced me this was worth trying out."

Gerevich, or "Uncle George" as his students affectionately called him, became a "sort of father figure" for Szilagyi.

"He was a great teacher. For him, it wasn't about winning... He wanted to see me willing, fighting, not giving up, respecting my opponent in the spirit of fair play and trying to be better than them," explained Szilagyi.

Gerevich also gave him a much-needed confidence boost during his teenage years, when the budding fencer had a crisis of faith.

"He just said: 'listen, Aron it's fine for you to decide, but I feel that you have a talent," said Szilagyi.

"I can't promise you will become an Olympic champion, but you have a good chance, and I will do everything I can to make it happen.'

"And that was enough, he put a bug in my ear."

From a young age, Szilagyi dominated his Hungarian peers on the piste.

"It was considered strange if he didn't win a domestic competition in his age group," fencing coach Gyorgy Boros, who was a judge presiding over many junior tournaments during that time, told AFP.

"He was only concentrating on the competitions, there was nothing to distract him from it, he was very focused for his age," Boros added.

Szilagyi's big breakthrough came at the age of 17, when he was offered a chance to be part of the Hungarian team for the World Fencing Championships.

"I was in at the deep end...  but I was young, I was enthusiastic, I had nothing to lose, I fought well and we won that World Championships."

Szilagyi qualified for Beijing 2008, but was eliminated in the last 16.

However, there were extenuating circumstances as he had learned the day he travelled to China that his mentor Gerevich had died, leaving him "in shock."

Gerevich may not have lived to see his protege fulfil his dreams but Szilagyi has not forgotten him.

Before he leaves for France -- the fencing runs from July 27 to August 4 -- he will pay his respects at Gerevich's grave.

Szilagyi was in a much better place mentally at the 2012 London Olympics as he fenced his way to his first gold.

"I will never forget those moments: when I scored the final touch, when I hugged my coach, when we celebrated together with the spectators, when I sang the national anthem..."

"I felt truly on top of the world, bringing glory to my family, my club, the sport of fencing, my country" Szilagyi recalled.

There was no stopping him from that moment on as he added two further individual golds in Rio and then Tokyo.

"At Rio, I wanted to prove that London was not an outlier... and in Tokyo everyone was asking me if I was going to get the third one."

Three years on from Tokyo and the question will be is a fourth gold on the cards.