A North Wales Police Community Support Officer has been selected to represent her country at fencing at the Commonwealth Championships in Melbourne in 2010.
Lydia Johnson, 24, who is based in Llay, near Wrexham, is ranked second senior in Wales and is already an experienced fencer, having competed in the last Commonwealth Games in Belfast and represented Great Britain at Cadet and Junior level in overseas competitions in Hungary, Germany and Italy, as well as at the Junior Commonwealth Games in India in 2005.
As part of the Wales team in senior fencing Lydia will be competing in both the individual and team events and is hoping to captain the ladies foil team.
Lydia, who has dedicated more than half her life to the sport said:
“I took up fencing at the age of 11 when my school held a taster session. I thoroughly enjoyed it and later found out that my father once fenced as a child. This encouraged me even more and we started training together at home in the back garden.
“I joined Wrexham fencing club and started competing in local competitions, but really started training seriously at 14 with my coach, a former Olympic fencer and Commonwealth medallist Jayne Hanlon. We have worked together for ten years and have formed a group of competitive members called Jets.”
The preparations for the September championships in Australia include lots of footwork and technical training and gruelling fitness sessions, but Lydia believes the hard work is worth the effort.
“I am balancing training with working shifts as a PCSO in Llay, but manage to train nearly every day and compete at the weekend if possible. I am looking forward to every aspect of the championships, the atmosphere, the nerves and excitement.
“I would love to come home with a medal. In India I missed out on a medal by just a few point points. Now I feel it is my time, “she added.
Lydia is hoping to arrange a number of fund raising events to help towards the £3,000 cost of travel, accommodation, kit and licenses needed to compete in Australia.
The Commonwealth Games get underway in Delhi, India in October. The games cater 16 sports. Other sports can hold their own championships in the same year, but not in the same country or at the same time due to funding reasons. The rules and medals are the same.
