Conversation with Veniamin Reshetnikov, 2013 World Champion:
J: “So how was your flight?”V: “Not so bad. I fly a lot – Novosibirsk to Moscow every weekend, 4 hours flight, 4 hours time zone”J: “That’s insane.”V: “It’s not so bad. When I was small, we could not afford flight so had to go by train. 48 hours. Each way.”J: “!”V: “My coach would give me lessons on the train. With rolled up newspaper.” [Makes parry-riposte gestures]
And that, boys and girls, is how you become fencing champion.