Fencing is France's most successful sport at the Olympics and Christian Bauer is one of its most famous faces. He's coached France, Italy, Russia and China to huge success.
Bauer said: "I was very famous in China, even the taxi drivers knew my name."
He spoke to CGTN about coaching Zhong Man to Olympic Gold in 2008 and his hopes for building a legacy for Chinese fencing.
#paris2024 #olympics #fencing #china
Bauer said: "I was very famous in China, even the taxi drivers knew my name."
He spoke to CGTN about coaching Zhong Man to Olympic Gold in 2008 and his hopes for building a legacy for Chinese fencing.
#paris2024 #olympics #fencing #china
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NewsTranscript
00:00When Zhong Man won men's sabre gold at Beijing 2008, hundreds of millions of Chinese people
00:07celebrated with him. Winning gold at home was a prize he didn't even dare to dream of.
00:13Stunning the fencing world. Afterwards, he dedicated the win to his coach Christian Bauer,
00:18calling him the best sabre coach in the world. Fast forward to 2024 and Bauer is still coaching.
00:25He's already struck gold with his athletes in Paris.
00:55Bauer's tactical reading of the sport they call chess with a sword helped Zhong Man to gold.
01:09So big were the celebrations afterwards that the coach couldn't even take a taxi
01:13without being recognized.
01:25Now at Paris 2024, China is sending 12 fencers to compete with one man and one woman qualified
01:35in sabre. So what should we look out for from Chinese fencers?
01:39Fencing is France's most successful sport at the Olympics and Christian Bauer one of
01:59its most famous faces. He's coached France, Russia, Italy and China to great success.
02:05And with athletes from over 10 countries training at his academy here in Orleans,
02:11that legacy looks set to grow even larger this summer.
02:16Beyond Paris, Chinese fencing continues to grow in popularity with close to 1,300 clubs around
02:22the country and a new generation is already building towards Los Angeles 2028. Christian
02:29Bauer will be part of that journey as he is set to return to coaching Chinese fencers with a nation
02:35looking forward to more moments like that one back in Beijing 2008. Ken Brown, CGTN, Orleans.