WAIS fencing athlete Sutherlan Scudds has become the first Western Australian to win a men’s saber division national title after the 20 year-old produced a swashbuckling campaign in Brisbane to reinforce his national top ranking.
It has been a year to remember for Scudds – who is now based in Marrickville, NSW – having not lost a competition on Australian soil through all of 2010.
Following a debut performance at this year’s World Championships in Paris, and with a national top ranking, Scudds made a strong start to competition, finishing with a second top ranking following the pool bouts.
Despite the strong start Scudds admitted he didn’t allow himself to lose focus on the bigger challenge.
“Throughout the day I knew my biggest competition would come from my training partner, James Walsh,” Scudds said.”It seemed likely we would meet in the final, but if I were to lose to someone earlier it couldhavebeen a dramatic upset so I went about my normal competition ritual of only concentrating on the next bout, and not thinking about the final or semis,” he revealed.
It proved a successful strategy as the unbeaten swordsman progressed comfortably through to the final.
“I defeated a Suisse international in Frederic Jaccard 15-5 in the quarter final and then faced ex-Russian international Alex Telegin in the semi for a 15-7 win.
Scudds was able to clinch a first national championship after defeating Walsh in a tense final.
“I started of with the first hit and from there it was equal all the way, but I managed to hold on for that one hit lead to win 15-13,” Scudds recalled.
With a top ranking in both Under 20 and senior ranks, Scudds admits the hard work begins in earnest, with 2011 shaping up as a crucial year in his preparation for the bigger goal of London in 2012.
“Next year is going to be a very busy season and I’m certainly aware that the Olympics are just around the corner. Internationally I will do five competitions, including the international world cup circuit in Athens, Madrid andPolandin April, before heading to the Asian Championships in Korea,during July. The year will culminate with the World Championships in Italy in November.”
“It’s definitely going to be a busy year, but I’d like to say thanks to WAIS for helping me achieve these results, I couldn’t have done it without their support.”
