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A few weeks before the start of the Olympic Games, Tunisian fencer Fares Ferjani posted a long story on Instagram, reflecting on his journey to Paris 2024, and addressing young children who may be looking to follow in his footsteps.
He spoke about how he is embracing the challenge, how success is not guaranteed, and that nothing can replace hard work, which is the only thing within one’s control. That and self-belief.
“I posted it a few weeks before going to the Olympics because I had that idea that no matter what happens, I’ll be fine,” Ferjani told The National in a video call from his home in Tunisia.
That mindset helped carry Ferjani to the Olympic podium.
Two weeks ago, at the Grand Palais, the 27-year-old Tunisian clinched the silver medal in sabre fencing, knocking out world No 1 Ziad Elsissy along the way and battling in the final before falling to third-seeded South Korean Oh Sanguk.
This was Ferjani’s third appearance at an Olympic Games and he was adamant about doing things differently this time around. He prioritised his mental health more than ever and found an inner calm during his bouts.
At the Olympic Village, he managed his excitement level, enjoying it just enough to get a taste of the experience, but not too much that it drained him. He went to the opening ceremony but didn’t stay too long.
“Sometimes for us Olympians, when we go to the Olympic Village it’s so overwhelming, so to compensate, we try to over-enjoy our time and that impacts us negatively in our mental health,” he said.
“So I tried to stay healthy mentally, aware, and in contact with my psychologist and my team, and I tried to speak up and not keep things in my head.
“Some days were really tough, pressure-wise. Because for us, four years for one day [of competition], and that’s it; it’s nonstop pressure every single day and I just tried to manage it as best as I can. Thank goodness I did.”
Ferjani’s medal opened the Arab region's account in Paris. Egypt’s Mohamed Elsayed claimed the second medal the following day, also in fencing, with a bronze in individual epee. There was a strong Arab and North African presence in the latter stages of many of the fencing events and Ferjani was proud to be a part of it.
“In the top eight [in sabre] we were three Africans ... this just felt like the African Championship because me, Ziad [Elsissy] and [Mohamed] Amer we always fight, for 10 years now we fight in the African Championship and I’m like, ‘Wow, we’re three in the top eight. What a day!’
“And then two in the top four, I’m like, 'what is going on?' Ziad is incredible. He has been the most dominant sabre fencer the whole season.
“Fencing against him in the smi-final was a big honour because I felt like we are representing so much more than we think. This is not between me and you, this is us. And for the Arab world, and the African world, this is the first time in history.
“I am part of this amazing, incredible journey, what a dream. All this hard work is paying off and we’re becoming role models of this African generation and Arab generation and I feel so honoured to be here.”
The magnitude of what he has achieved hasn't fully sunk in yet. The New York-based fencer flew to Tunisia from Paris and said he’s been bombarded by media requests since his arrival.
“I’m very happy that thousands of people contacted me, thousands of people reached out to me. People literally right now, at breakfast, stopping me to take pictures, yesterday night, the day before,” he said.
“I just felt like this young ambassador, and people are so happy that I represented them. And today people were telling me, ‘You made us proud because we have a voice. We saw our flag go high’. And I was like, ‘This is much bigger than I think it is’. I feel like I still didn’t get it yet.”
Ferjani was born and raised in Tunis and grew up in a fencing family. His father, uncle, brothers and cousins all fenced and inspired him to follow in their footsteps. Initially a foil fencer, Ferjani switched to sabre because he found it “more dynamic, explosive and fun” and competed at the World Cadet Championship in 2013. That event did not go well for him but the following year, he reached the semi-finals at the Youth Olympic Games.
In 2016, he was offered a full athletic scholarship to study at, and compete for, St. Johns University in New York. By 2017, he was the No 1 junior in the world, “but I didn’t feel like I deserved it because I wanted to do a little more,” he said.
He reached the quarter-finals at the World Championships at senior level in 2018 and felt things were progressing fast. Then came a period he described as “uncertainty”.
“I didn’t feel like I was as good as the other fencers and I wasn’t. By 2021 going to the Tokyo Olympics, and I didn’t want to admit it to myself, but I was like, ‘You have no chance. You may be good, you may be very good in practice, and you can beat many of them’, but the structure in my head wasn’t right. Mentally, physically, I felt like I was missing a lot of things,” he said.
It got tougher from there. Despite finishing the 2021/22 season inside the world’s top 13, Ferjani was toying with the idea of quitting but was urged by his coach to take a breather and not make any rash decisions.
Ferjani didn’t quit but he suddenly found himself stuck for an entire year (from mid-2022 to mid-2023) in the United States, unable to travel as he waited for his green card.
“All year long watching everyone fence and me dropping in the rankings and getting no points. It was hard,” he said.
“But I saw it as an opportunity. I was like, 'OK, the Olympics is far off, why not now actually train harder than anyone else?' Because you don’t have a lot of competitions, only some regional ones. Maybe we can bridge the gap. So that was my mindset. I started practising harder than I ever did.”
When he got his green card in June 2023, he immediately hopped on a plane and started competing again. He clawed his way back into the top 16 ahead of the Olympics and went to Paris feeling confident, and knowing he was capable of getting a medal.
Ferjani’s life in New York has its challenges but he believes it’s what shaped him to be the athlete he is today. For seven years, he’s been commuting from Queens to Manhattan every day to go to practice.
“I probably will keep doing that for the next four years because I want to go to the LA Olympics,” he said.
“But I got used to it. It teaches you mentally how to be mature and accepting circumstances no matter what they are. So I’m like, 'Wow, this is helping me in ways I can’t even imagine'. It’s making my life super hard but easier somehow. So I’m actually grateful for the obstacles.”
Looking ahead to LA 2028, Ferjani has a simple plan in mind.
“Just be a little better than the Fares of yesterday, that’s it,” he said. “Because chasing gold and chasing these medals it’s a little nerve-racking for us athletes because what happens if it doesn’t work?
"You get into depression like so many athletes. I don’t want to see that happening because it happened after Tokyo. And I’m like, ‘This is not worth it. You’re living a beautiful life, you’re healthy, you have a beautiful family, and you’ll be able to eat after this, so you’ll be fine’."
