Elizabeth Tartakovsky was an energetic and athletic girl who tried several sports: ballet, tennis and swimming. Now, about to turn 24, Tartakovsky has found success in fencing, a passion that has taken her to the biggest stages.
Tartakovsky, the 2022 NCAA women's saber national champion, will represent Team USA at the Summer Olympics in Paris in what will be her Olympic debut.
Elizabeth Tartakovsky and Kara Linder of Team USA shake hands with Team Poland after defeating them in the women's junior team saber event at the World Junior and Cadet Fencing Championships on April 9, 2017, in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. (Devin Manky/Getty Images)
“In terms of results, it's definitely one gold medal, if not two, because we have the individual event and the team event,” Tartakovsky said of his goal in an interview with Fox News Digital on Thursday.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
“When I think about the bigger picture, and this is what I'm really trying to focus on, I really want the rest of this journey leading up to the Olympics and my Olympic experience to really be a celebration. Only one person comes out with a medal So I don't want my experience to be defined by the outcome. I really just want to take it all in and be really grateful even to myself. [with] “How far I allowed myself to go, all the barriers I overcame and just celebrating this great achievement and soaking up the experience.”
Tartakovsky's start in fencing has a unique beginning.
In his youth, he played several sports, but his focus was on ballet. Despite the positive aspects of learning her coordination and flexibility, he said it was not “stimulating enough” for her.
Elizabeth Tartakovsky of Harvard fencing against Maia Chamberlain of Princeton in the first saber semifinal of the Division I Women's Fencing Championships on March 25, 2022, in Notre Dame, Indiana. (Marc Lebryk/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
“I always told the story that I got kicked out of ballet class for talking too much,” he says with a smile.
His introduction to fencing came at a young age when he saw his great uncle, the famous Olympic fencing coach Yuri Gelmancoached the men's saber team to a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Tartakovsky said she was “captivated” by the sport.
“I had never seen anything like it”.
It was then that Tartakovsky's parents, immigrants from Ukraine, asked her and her sister if they wanted to try fencing. They enrolled the sisters in a local New Jersey club, which opened the door to Tartakovsky's success.
THE OLYMPIC TORCH ARRIVES IN MARSEILLE ON A FAMOUS BOAT AMID CELEBRATION AND MANY SECURITY
Elizabeth Tartakovsky of Team USA poses with a medal. (US Fencing)
“My parents immigrated to this country. They grew up in the Soviet Union in kyiv, what is now Ukraine, and they came to this country looking for opportunities.”
“They instilled a lot of work in me and wanted a better future for me than what they themselves had. And I am very happy to be able to do this for them and also for myself, to realize the high level I have achieved in my life.” athletic race.”
Being able to represent the country that gave her and her family so many opportunities is “special,” Tartakovsky says.
“I think it's also going to be really awesome to meet the other athletes on Team USA. I mean, we're really a melting pot of people from different backgrounds and different experiences. It's very special, and it's very special for me to be able to represent a country that has given me this opportunity to succeed.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Elizabeth Tartakovsky of Team USA prepares to fight Team Poland at the World Junior and Cadet Fencing Championships on April 9, 2017 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. (Devin Manky/Getty Images)
Tartakovsky, who will turn 24 on May 21, will represent Team USA in the women's saber event when the Games begin on July 26.
Follow Fox News Digital sports coverage in X and subscribe to Fox News Sports Huddle Newsletter.
