Fencing Champion Gears Up for International Competition

A Derby College student will represent Great Britain in an international fencing competition in Switzerland this month.

Owen Jordan (17) lives in Watnall near Kimberley and is studying to be a personal trainer at Derby College’s Johnson Building campus in Pride Park.

Owen continues to make a name for himself in the fencing world and is on the British Fencing Talent Pathway with his sights set on competing in the Olympics in 2020 and becoming a professional sportsman.

He has been East Midlands champion for the past four years and won the British youth championships last year. He represented England in the Cadet Fencing Commonwealth Games in South Africa in July and has competed successfully in several European and World championships.

Owen combines his College work with training in the evenings and at weekends in London.

He said: “A lot of people under estimate fencing as a sport.   Competition days are very long with a number of fights which are very tactical and require a lot of endurance and strength. You therefore need to be very physically and mentally fit with 100% dedication and motivation during a fight.

“The College have been very supportive of my training programme and this course is ideal for me as I can work on my own personal fitness whilst gaining qualifications.

“At the end of my course, I plan to move to London and step up by training. My goal is to get a professional fencing contract but I will need to work part time as well so this course is very important to me.

Derby College Sports Lecter Kynan O’Leary said: “We are extremely proud of Owen’s achievements.  As a College we have had a number of elite sports people amongst the student body including Adam Peaty and it is important that we support them with their training programmes.”