Tipping Thescales Insidea Jockey's Battle Tomake Weight Rook-Y Balboa!
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REMEMBER THE TITANS Meet London’s leading LGBT football team @sw_Londoner www.swlondoner.co.uk December 2016 Rook-y Balboa! Tipping We go the scales chess Inside a boxing jockey’s battle to make weight The hockey girls of Superb-iton The fighter still remains Tommy Martin on his coaching comeback PAGE 3 December 2016 www.swlondoner.co.uk 2 Fencing GB medals Tokyo 1964: Henry‘Bill’ Hoskyns 1. secured a silver medal in the Men’s 5Individual Epee. Hoskyns, who com - peted in six different Olympic Games, lost in the final to Gregory Kiss of the Soviet Union. Rome 1960: Allan Jay won a silver in the same event being beaten by home 2. favourite Giuseppe Delfino in the final. Delfino was a part of the gold medal winning team that defeated GB in the same Games. Rome 1960: Hoskyns and Jay put aside their well known sporting rival - 3. ry to bag a silver medal in the Men’s Team Epee along with Michael Howard, John Pelling, Raymond Harri - son and Michael Alexander. Melbourne 1956: Gillian Sheen won EN GARDE: Aiyenuro gold in theWomen’s Individual Foil putting in the hours at 4. making amends for her second round Camden Fencing Club exit in Helsinki 1952. This is Team GB’s Inset: Aiyenuro in ac - only fencing gold at an Olympic tion Games. Los Angeles 1932: Judy Guinness secured silver in theWomen’s Individ - 5. ual Foil with Austrian Ellen Preis winning gold. However, some say two touches made by Guinness were failed to be spotted by officials. Aiyenuro looking to make By Alasdair Hooper something weird.” Britain at the 1992 Barcelona didn’t have the set up that they the cAufter graduatting last Mfay wioth Olymrpics and hTas beeon coach - khave noyw so it waos a case of us Olympics a degree in sports science ing Aiyenuro since he first trying to work through the day to THANKS to misguided stereo - Aiyenuro, along with five other picked up a sabre, believes he exist and train in the evenings types, and Pierce Brosnan’s sabreurs, was accepted onto the has the necessary attributes to and weekends.” highly debateable performance World Class Program, which pro - make it and can also pass on his Richard Kruse’s fourth place alongside Madonna in Die vides funding so athletes can own advice in getting to the finish in the foil at the Rio Another Day, fencing has gar - train full time with the aim of greatest sporting event on Earth. Olympics did plenty to bring the nered quite an elitist tag. sending a sabre team to Tokyo. “Soji has always had potential. sport to a new audience thanks to However, Camden-based At Rio 2016 Britain had no He learns quite quickly, he’s a its mainstream television cover - fencer Soji Aiyenuro, 22, is keen sabre representation whatsoever good athlete and he was always age on the BBC. to show that fencing is for every - and it’s something Liverpool and mentally strong, which is some - Aiyenuro believes that another one as he begins his journey that Steven Gerrard fan Aiyenuro is thing you can see from a young inspiring performance, coupled will hopefully result in represent - hoping will be put right in four age,”Williams said. with the message that back - ing Britain in sabre at the 2020 years time. “From a coaching point of ground and financial constraints Tokyo Olympics. “For me it would be great.We view, I think the mentality is the are not a hindrance, is what is The Brunel University gradu - need someone to represent hardest thing to work on. needed to garner more of a fenc - ate lists success at Crystal Palace sabre from a British perspective “Dedication and commitment ing following in this country. in the LondonYouth Games, a last because it has been a while,” is exactly what it takes to get to “I think fencing needs some - eight finish in theWhitgift under- Aiyenuro said. an Olympics, particularly when one. It needs one person to have 20’s sabre as a 14-year-old and “If we get a team there it’ll be you’re younger there’s a lot of a really good result that everyone becoming 2016 under-23 British something that nobody has done distractions, decisions and sacri - can relate to and think if he does champion as some of his best for a good amount of time.” fices to be made. fencing then so could I,” he said. achievements. IanWilliams, who represented “When I was Soji’s age we “It’s not just for a certain type He began fencing at the age of of person and there’s been a lot 10 and has his eyes firmly set on more interest in fencing since Rio moving up the British fencing and Richard’s performance – it’s pecking order. just capitalising on that and get - “A friend of mine who fenced ting as many people as we can. at his private school invited me “It’s hard because fencing is to Camden Fencing Club. I seen as a niche sport so a lot of decided to try it one time and people think that they don’t want three weeks into doing it I did a to get into it for various reasons. competition, came second, and “It’s all about getting past thought let’s carry this on,” those reasons and everyone I explained Aiyenuro. know, that has thought that same “Fencing made me stand out thing, as soon as they’ve tried because it was so different to fencing they have said that they anything you see in my area. have really liked it. “ It was something completely “It is just all about getting different, something new and people to try it.” December 2016 www.swlondoner.co.uk 3 The danger of the sweet science BIG FIGHT NIGHT: Wembley Arena under the lights. Inset: Tommy Martin and Charlie Edwards. By Daniel Blackham taken away, it erased everything all she wanted was for me to fight Charlie, I loved doing the pad - licence again. I wasn’t happy I’ve done and made it point - again because I was doing worse work, I loved being hands on and [when hearing the Blackwell less,”he explained. to myself, I was on the floor, I was then fight night came, or fight news] and I was concerned for Gone CHRIS EUBANK JR’S crippling “I actually believed that I had in pieces, I was broken. week should I say. him, but at the same time I was in punches on Nick Blackwell won the fight before I even went “My Mum said‘Tom I need to “When we got to the hotel, the the same situation, I tried to on too abruptly ended a career that had in there, so that’s my downfall, get you help, I need to get you press conferences and the apply for my licence again, and I taken a lifetime to prepare. The before my other fights I was so seeing someone’, the next thing I weigh-ins, that’s when it really hit know what he’s going through, long gruelling gym work, amateur nervous it kept me on my toes, know I was at Tony Adams’ sports home that, wow, this is over.It was you just think,‘there’s no life after Muhammad Ali’s doctor and professional bouts ended on but before the Hibbert fight I was clinic, so I went to see this coun - fine because I had to stay profes - boxing.’ That’s what I’ve got to do, a doctor’s order amidst the gri - just too confident and unfortu - cillor and just through speaking sional for him, held myself Ferdie Pacheco recommend - I’ve got to try and find life.” 1. ed Ali should retire in 1977. maces of spectators and nately it took my life away, it took to him it just managed to help me together for him, I treated it like 5 Adam Ballard from Croydon Ali went on to fight four more commentators. It was gladiatorial my whole career away.” open up to everyone else, and to I’d want to be treated.” years, losing three of his last without the gladiators. In the coming months, Martin Amateur Boxing Club explained talk to someone just shows how Martin explained his psycho - four fights. As Blackwell awoke from an watched on as campmates, spar - much you can change your life.” logical route back from the what can be done to support induced coma, he was told he ring partners and friends of his Martin was asked by Croy - injury, and signalled his sympa - former fighters. would never fight again. The stepped into the ring, and he was don’s own Charlie Edwards if he thy for Blackwell. “I feel that boxers need better Roy Jones Jr was once widely British Boxing Board of Control forced to watch from afar, admit - would corner him for his come - “I started to get a lot of thera - advice and support networks to 2. recognised as the best pound removed his licence and Black - ting that his next step to get help back fight. Martin gladly obliged py,” Martin admitted.“I held ensure they make sound finan - for pound fighter in the world. He continues to fight at age 47 well was forced to give up the came from an unlikely source. but admits coaching Edwards for everything in for about six cial decisions with their and takes on Bobby Gunn in craft he had been perfecting He said:“Most of all it was my months without telling anyone.