Why Ndolo shifted allegiance to Kenya after 15 years in Germany

Africa top ranked woman in fencing Alexandra Ndolo shares her experience with scribes during the National Olympics Committee-Kenya media training in Naivasha last week. [ Kelly Ayodi,Standard]

Spirited Alexandra Ndolo wants to become the first woman to represent Kenya at the Olympics in fencing.

Ndolo is very optimistic of participating at the Paris 2024 Olympics in the combat sport that features sword fighting.

Technically, she's already punched the ticket to the Olympics by virtue of being top ranked woman in Africa.

"Fencing is my passion. I learnt the sport as a child. It was part of the five disciplines I was doing in my childhood. When I turned 21, I decided to go pro in it and it's been my love to date," Ndolo told Standard Sports.

"Paris Olympics qualifiers in fencing starts in May this year to April 2024. If by April next year I will still be top in the continent then my qualification will be automatic.

"I feel my chances to qualify for Paris are very high, I'll continue taking part in forthcoming championships so as to improve on my current results," she stated.

The European Championships silver and bronze medalist has taken part in six world cups which she believes have given her enough experience to go for the jugular in case she makes it to the Olympics.

The dual citizenship holder believes Kenya is a strong candidate for a medal in the game at the Olympics and this is giving her hope for a podium finish in France.

"I'll go out there (at the Olympics), give it my best, I'll really give it my all, you can be sure of this because I really, really train very hard.

"If I could get a silver at the World Championships, why not have a good result at the Olympics?" she posed.

Ndolo, who is currently ranked 10th in the world, has opted to change her allegiance to Kenya after a 15-year stint with Germany.

This has been possible because she is a dual citizenship holder as her father is Kenyan and mother is German.

Africa top ranked woman in fencing Alexandra Ndolo in past action. [Courtesy]

She is currently being helped by the National Olympics Committee-Kenya NOC-K) to renew her dual citizenship passport. Once completed, she will be fully fledged in Team Kenya.

But why did she change her allegiance to Kenya?

Ndolo says Kenya is a sleeping giant that needs awakening in rare sports like fencing. She says the country has immense potential in fringe sports.

"I strongly believe in Kenya, I also believe in myself. Kenya may not have it all like in Germany but it has the hunger, the passion and the perseverance to win medals in the global arena and I want to be the trailblazer here, I want to be the first one to show that this is possible," she said.

The World Championship silver medalist started competing for Kenya last November. She will be headed for the Africa Championship in June. In two weeks, she will be in Colombia and Latin America for global contests. Three weeks ago, she was in China to prove her mettle in an international championship.

"This game is very expensive, so my greatest challenge is funding. I have been supporting myself in all these games," she said.

In order to make the game reachable to ordinary citizens, Ndolo has taken the sport to the sprawling Huruma slums in Nairobi where she is introducing many children to the craft.

Her aim is to popularise fencing in Kenya and give the children the chance to realise their dreams and travel the world all over as she has done.

Ndolo is also the brainchild behind the Kenya Fencing Federation which is so far affiliated to NOC-K and the World Fencing Federation.

NOC-K has already set up a target to improve Kenya's medal haul at the Olympics Games by ensuring Kenyans take part in more disciplines.