She might have competed for Germany for 15 years but representing Kenya for almost two years has brought out a completely unique sense of feeling and belonging despite challenges that made her break down several times.
The history-making fencing queen Alexandra Ndolo says that performing for Kenya especially in winning the African title last year felt incredibly different as compared to when she was still a Germany citizen.
“There have been challenges but i don’t regret changing citizenship, especially knowing the joy that I can bring Kenyan people and the fascination I have seen in their eyes with the new sport,” says Ndolo, adding that in Germany people are happy about the results but not like Kenya where it feels different.
“The positive feedback I get from people congratulating me personally and on social media platforms here in Kenya makes me not regret anything,” explains Ndolo.
Ndolo states that giving up is what Kenyans don’t deserve to know since she came to her father’s country with a mission and she has to see it through.
Kenya's fencing queen Alexandra Ndolo (centre) during the interview on NTV sports show SportOn with presenters Bernard Ndong (right) and James Wokabi at Nation Centre, Nairobi on April 01, 2024.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
One step was to qualify for the Olympics for the first time, a historical feat she has just achieved through a good ranking that she achieved through hard work, sweat and sheer sacrifice.
“I always say that because my father died when I was young, I wanted to reconnect with him at his homeland and coming here is like talking to him,” says Ndolo stating that the urge to come close to her fatherland was when she won a bronze for Germanny at the World Fencing Championships in 2022 in Cairo, Egypt.
“It’s in Cairo where I posted my best results ever in my fencing career. Though not Kenya, I felt like my father helped me...I felt like I was coming to Kenya hence changing citizenship was the right thing to do,” says Ndolo.
And what a way to return to Kenya with a different bounce in her step after she was informed that she had qualified for the Paris Olympic Games after the 2024 FIE Women's Epee World Cup that ended on March 22, in Nanjing, China.
Ndolo finished 11th overall out of 200 contestants, a performance that saw her placed 14th in Epee in the world in the 2023/2024 ranking to put her through as the highest placed African.
“At the moment it's still surreal because it’s a historic moment not just for the country but me. This will be my first Olympics, a journey that has taken me two years ago when I switched allegiance,” says Ndolo. “It’s a big step but with mixed emotions, competing for my father’s country.”
“I didn’t know how it felt then because I had worked for that moment for a long time. It’s when I landed in Germany after two days that it sank,” says Ndolo, explaining that it has been a tough yet satisfying journey.
“Here I was trying everything to explain, to introduce to Kenyans a game that I am passionate about and at the same time maintain a high level in training and competition across America, Europe and Asia.
Kenya's fencing queen Alexandra Ndolo during the interview on NTV sports show SportOn at Nation Centre, Nairobi on April 01, 2024.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
Many thought Ndolo had qualified by virtue of winning the Africa title in Casablanca, Morocco in June last year but she was required to do more than that...compete in more world events so as to keep her ranking high.
“Other African players were competing in these events and getting bypassed would have been easy,“ explains Ndolo.
Ndolo says that she knew it would be difficult to qualify for the Olympics, but she didn’t think it would be that tough especially after she lacked local support in her world tour, which she attributes to lack of good communication.
“I wish I could live in Kenya but for the training I needed to stay in Europe,” explains Ndolo, disclosing that she had been told that she only needed to prove that she can do it so as to get assistance from the government but that didn’t come through.
“I wasn’t able to speak to any government official since I was communicating through the National Olympic Committee of Kenya,“ says Ndolo noting that in the German system, if you are on the highest level, they pay for everything and give you an allowance but she understands that is not possible in Kenya.
“I think there was miscommunication that I hope to solve before I return to Europe because in the end we want results and that athletes want to go to Olympics and perform well,” notes Ndolo.
Ndolo talked about some of her toughest moments last year that almost saw her reach a breaking point when she missed a championships in Italy after Fencing Federation of Kenya failed to register her and how she attended another in Dubai without accommodation funds.
“All the federation needed to do was register me since I had paid for everything else. But I was shocked when I arrived at the venue for registration to find my name missing,” says Ndolo, explaining that the organisers who knew her well were shocked about the incident and there is nothing they could have done since she was time-barred.
“We packed our things together with my coach and physio and left back to Germany,” says Ndolo, stating that no one wanted to be called out about a mistake they made.
“I went on my social media platform to vent my anger out of frustration but I thought that it was a new phenomenon for the federation I was helping bring up and was a bit overwhelmed,“ notes Ndolo, who revealed she had run out of funds when she arrived in Dubai for another ranking event.
Kenya's fencing queen Alexandra Ndolo during the interview on NTV sports show SportOn at Nation Centre, Nairobi on April 01, 2024.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
Ndolo’s mother Barbara Sabarth, who is of Polish origin, once again came through for her to settle her bills.
“Once I ran through my funding mom took over. Currently, my sweet, lovely, Polish-born mother is raising the Kenyan flag high,” says Ndolo.
Ndolo intimates that one of the things that keeps her going through the challenges is the bracelet the Commonwealth Games and Africa 100m champion Ferdinand Omanyala gifted her last year.
“I didn’t know it could mean this to me since wherever I go all over the world people always ask me if I am from Kenya. It’s so cool to see the joy I can bring to the Kenyan national flag colours,” says Ndolo. “I would like to be the one connecting Kenyans both in diaspora and back home.”
Ndolo, who is accompanied by her mother, says that she will be in the country for a week before proceeding for training camps and competition in France and Poland among other places.
Ndolo declares that she is ripe and ready for the Paris Olympics. “All I need to work on is my mental framework since I am technically and tactically good with defence,” says Ndolo, hoping that sponsors will come through to ease her mother’s financial burden.
