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Alex Cai only made his senior fencing debut three years ago.
Now, he has become part of an historic team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The nine-strong team is the largest for Team Canada since 2008, and Cai’s foil trio has qualified for the team event for the first time since the Seoul Games in 1988.
“It’s been a hard time to get here, especially with the jump in age categories,” Cai said before competition got underway in Japan. “I’m excited to compete in Tokyo as a team and hopefully we will leave it all out there.”
Despite the pandemic, Cai and teammates Eli Schenkel and Maximilien Van Haaster actually got a rare opportunity to train together in Toronto before the Games.
Usually a team sport, he is looking forward to the dynamic of the team foil event at Makuhari Messe.
“Individual effort and the sum of that makes up the team event. It’s unique,” Cai explained.
“I enjoy competing together, everyone comes together really well and I always enjoy having the guys behind me cheering me on.”
The Montreal product and student at McGill University was even able to use the cancellation of the Games to his advantage, and take a much-needed break.
“At the time I was stressed with all the tournaments and falling behind with my coursework,” Cai said.
“In the short term, to have a pause and regroup to take a step back from all the stress and pressure I was putting on myself for the Olympic qualification to relax, I got really lucky how it played out for me. My class schedule online allowed me to accommodate my training a bit more.”
Cai says he owes his Olympic debut to both sport psychology work with his university, along with some “phenomenal” coaches down the years, including Peter Ho, a man who has produced over 30 members of the national team.
“I really credit a lot of my development in sport and personal life to their guidance,” Cai said.
To follow Cai’s career, look him up on Instagram where he is active, but you may have to search for Alex Vegetable. Why?
“In Chinese, Cai is like a homonym for vegetable. Growing up people would call me ‘veggie boy’ so I went with it,” he explained.
And he hopes to ‘romaine’ calm and make the most of the experience.
“I’m trying to focus on the process (and) making sure I’m the most ready I can be so I can enjoy the moment knowing I have done everything I can,” he added.
Cai came up just short in the preliminary round of the individual foil event, pushing experienced German Peter Joppich all the way before falling to a 15-12 defeat.
However, Cai and his teammates will be back on the piste in the team event on the evening of Aug. 1.
Listen to the full interview – https://iono.fm/e/1079997
