Schalm continues to make mark on World Cup fencing circuit

Original article: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/010524/5044135.html 

Martin Cleary
The Ottawa Citizen

The Ottawa Citizen / Sherraine Schalm is ranked fourth in epee on the World Cup circuit.

Last weekend at Legnano, Italy, Schalm won a bronze in women's epee. A week before, she won silver at Zurich, Switzerland, which followed a bronze medal at Goteborg, Sweden, in early May.

The 25-year-old member of the Excalibur Fencing Club is one of the hottest female fencers in the world.

"My mental training is paying off," Schalm said after winning the medal in Zurich. "I really like fencing now. I'm in a good regime. I've never had good back-to-back competitions."

Schalm, who now knows what it feels like to win in back-to-back-to-back competitions, is ranked fourth in women's epee, the highest ever attained in any weapon by a Canadian on the international circuit. Canada's previous best World Cup ranking was fifth in men's epee by Jean-Marc Chouinard of Montreal.

Winner of six World Cup medals, Schalm has 148 points in the standings. She could catch Switzerland's Gian Hablutzel-Burke (153) and Russia's Tatiana Logounova (151) if she attends this weekend's meet at Seville, Spain, to defend her title there. Germany's Inke Duplitzer leads with 193 points.

Schalm had a breakthrough last year at Seville, becoming the first Canadian woman to win World Cup gold.

"Her technique is fundamentally sound, which means she's starting at a higher level all the time," her coach, Manuel Guittet said. "It's what she has been building on and now it's paying off. Unfortunately, the Olympics were a little early (for her training program). It was her first Olympics and nerves were part of it."

In her first Olympics at Sydney last fall, Schalm was eliminated in the first round. She resumed competitive fencing in March after completing her studies in the education program at the University of Ottawa.