One cannot succeed in any career without sacrifice…
Mihaela Lidia Leonte is 14 years old and is attending 8th form at the theoretical high school Horia Hulubeidin in Magurele town, Ilfov county.
She is practicing fencing at the Quarto Fencing Club in Bucharest under the guidance of coach Marcela Mincu.
1. What was your first contact with the world of sports and what age did that happen?
I had contact with the world of sports ever since I was little, I used to go with my father at football matches on the stadium. When I was 5 years old, my parents took me to play tennis.
2. What made you choose this sport?
One evening as I was watching TV with my father there was a show where several sports persons were invited and I heard Ana Maria Brânză talking, who was speaking so nicely about this sport that I also wanted to be part of the big team of those practicing the “white sport”, the sport of elegance.
3. Do you still remember your first official duel? How was it? What did you feel?
My first official duel was at the National Championship for children in Constanta in the summer of 2012, the year I started fencing, more precisely in April, and the championship was in June. I was very nervous because it was the first competition I was participating in and, even more, it was a National Championship.
4. What was your biggest achievement in the field of sports?
The biggest sports achievement I got was the first place in individual, at the National Championship for Children in 2014 and the second place in teams. Moreover, participating in many competitions in the country and abroad made me love this sport even more. I am now participating in the European Circuit for Cadets (15-17 years), although I am only 14. I got the 4th place in our country at cadets and the 17th place in Europe.
5. What are your plans for 2016? What do you want to achieve in the field of sports? What about in school?
On the sports plan, for 2016 I would like to win the 1st place at the Cadets National Championship in our country, which takes place in January, and to participate in the Cadets European and World Championship in 2016 and, perhaps, to manage to get a place on the podium.
As far as school is concerned, I am in the 8th form, so high school entrance is what comes next.
6. What was the most powerful opponent you have met so far and who is the one you would definitely want to compete against in a duel?
The most powerful opponent in Romania was our champion, Ana Maria Brânză. I would like to be as good as she is and to be part of the Romanian national team.
7. Have you ever considered leaving Romania and getting settled somewhere else?
It depends on the perspectives I’ll get from the point of view of sports and education.
8. How is your relationship with your coach? What about your relationship with your teachers?
I have a very good relationship with my coach, Marcela Mincu, she is a very open person, close to me, and her presence gives me security and courage in what I do, I feel she is like a second mother to me, like a sister, a friend, my best friend. I have a good relationship at school with my teachers because they appreciate the efforts I am making both for sport and for school.
9. How do you get over a defeat and what is it that motivates you to go on?
I learn from the mistakes I make and a defeat is a step forward, it makes me be more ambitious and work harder, to overcome the moment and to concentrate on the next competition.
10. How much does it matter to be promoted in this sport?
A lot, when you have supporters in the room you feel an extra power and a motivation to prove that you deserve the trust of the people close to you and to show the value I have to my viewers. The financial support is also important, because until now it was only my family who supported me finacially.
11. How is a day of your life and what do you advise those who want to take on this sport in order to become champions?
A day in my life: in the mornings, school until 2 pm; at 4 pm I enter the fencing hall and I come out of there at 7 pm, afterwards I come back home and do my homework for the next day. There isn’t much time left for anything else, but if I really want to be a EUROPEAN AND WORLD CHAMPION, and most of all an OLYMPIC CHAMPION, I have to work very hard and do a lot of sacrifices. My childhood is in the fencing hall. For those who want to do this sport, I tell them that they need a lot of work and sacrifice and I advice them to be patient in order to get the best results. Without sacrifice you cannot make it in any career…
12. What do you say to the readers of our magazine, Casino Life & Business Magazine?
The sport I practice and love very much is not promoted in our country, there are too few people watching the sports competitions in our country and even fewer watching those from abroad; also, there are very few people who are willing to get involved financially as sponsors, that’s why I hereby invite them with all my heart and with all my hope to the upcoming competitions and I am convinced that once they come they will become more interested in this sport. It is an elegant and beautiful sport and we, the sports persons, especially promote fair-play.
I would like to give special thanks to the magazine for giving me the opportunity to make myself heard and, last but not least, to the readers of the magazine who I am sure will pay more attention to the fencing competitions from now on, because there are very important competitions at international level, such as: the World Cup, the European Championship, the World Championship and the Olympics.
