The Sport Of Fencing

THE SPORT OF FENCING originated nearly 2,000 years before Jesus Christ’s birth as a way for soldiers to prepare for battle. And when the modern Olympics began in 1896, fencing was part of the competition. In every Summer Olympics, fencing allows the world’s top swordsmen to battle for supremacy. At the 2000 Games in Australia, Romania’s Mihai Claudiu Covaliu surprised the field to win gold in the men’s sabre.

A sabre blade is about 35 inches long and weighs less than a pound. Athletes score points by touching their opponent with the tip of the blade anywhere between the top of the head and the hips. A point can also be scored with a slashing motion in the same area. The first player to 15 points wins.

Covaliu, who entered the Games ranked tenth in the world, beat the No. 2 seeded Damien Touya in the quarterfinals. He advanced to the finals to face France’s Mathieu Gourdain—who had upset No. 1 ranked Stanislav Pozdniakov of Russia in an earlier round. With an unlikely pairing in the gold-medal match, Covaliu wasted little time earning the title. He quickly slashed his way to an 11–7 lead and claimed the gold 15–12 before the first of three 3-minute periods had elapsed.

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POINT Steel clashing and slicing through the air highlighted the men’s sabre finals at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Both competitors wore metallic masks and chest protectors for safety. But as Romania’s Mihai Claudiu Covaliu attacked, France’s Mathieu Gourdain couldn’t guard himself, and Covaliu quickly won the gold.

The Bible says to guard our heart—and that doesn’t mean wearing a steel vest. Instead, God wants us to be careful about what we see and hear. Letting impure images or crude song lyrics into our life pollutes our heart. If our heart is left unguarded, that pollution affects all areas of our life.

GOAL! Tell God you want to protect your heart . . . it’s one of the most important things you can do. Ask him for discernment about what to let into your life.