While the épée is the heaviest sword out of the three fencing specializations, the weight of the Olympic silver hanging around Auriane Mallo’s neck is a worthy trade-off. The girl who resisted joining a fencing club because she didn’t want to play a “boy’s sport” won the Olympic silver in front of her home country on Saturday, following up with a second silver today in the team épée event. And this was only three years after giving birth to her son, Mathis.
Journey to Silver
The 6th-seed Lyon native cruised through to the event final where she faced off against world number one, Man Wai Vivian Kong of Hong Kong. Within four hours, Mallo had played and won all three of her bouts as she fought to keep her Olympic dream alive. She got stronger as the day progressed, increasing her margin of victory every bout. Mallo dominated the semi-final against Notre Dame’s Eszter Muhari of Hungary, defeating the 21-year-old wonder kid 15-9 to advance to the final.
Despite falling short of the gold, Mallo exceeded all expectations in front of her home crowd. Winning silver when she was not expected to reach the podium at the start of the day is impressive, considering Mallo is only three years removed from Mathis’ birth.
Stronger After Pregnancy
After a pregnancy, it’s widely expected that an athlete will regress. This is especially true when an athlete is in the later stages of their career. But the opposite has been true for Mallo. Two years after the birth of her son in 2021, she won her first major individual international medal in the 2023 European Championships at the age of 29.
After this finish, she told the French magazine Sportmag that “I've been waiting a long time to win a medal at a major competition. It shows that I'm on the right path. I know that I can go to the [2024] Olympics and perform well individually and collectively.” And Mallo did just that, adding two Olympic silver medals, one in the individual event and one in the team event, to her collection.
Mallo was excited to come back from maternity leave to the piste, leaning on her son as a main source of inspiration. “This is something that makes a big difference for me today, I really see fencing as something fun, a pleasure, even if it's an integral part of my life,” Mallo also told Sportmag. “My son has given me that sense of perspective, and I think that's why I'm stronger than ever.” Mallo shows us that giving birth doesn’t mean our careers as athletes are over, and that motherhood is a super power.
“I've been thinking about the Grand Palais ever since I was pregnant, with my son in the stands watching me. This is why I train every day.”
Balancing Sports and Careers
Fencing isn’t a sport that both men and women athletes can make a living off of. But Olympic fencing hopefuls are expected to put their careers on hold to train full-time. Mallo graduated from the National School Physiotherapy And Rehabilitation in France to pursue a career as a massage therapist. In January of 2023, she stepped away from her career to train full-time in the hopes of qualifying for the Olympics—something she hadn’t done since 2016.
“I have stopped working thanks to help from sponsors, my club and the national bodies. This makes things a lot easier for recovery and organization. “When I finish a competition I can spend time with my son Mathis instead of going straight back to work the next day,” Mallo said to Sportsmag. “I will go back to massage, but for now I'm focusing on fencing and family.”
Other women fencers at the Olympics have had similar experiences with having to put their career and studies on hold to train full-time. United States star Lee Kiefer, who won gold in the foil specialization, took a leave from medical school to train for the Olympics, highlighting the chance that some women athletes take to achieve their dreams.
Having to balance a career, motherhood, recovery after a pregnancy, and playing a sport full time is something many women athletes have to navigate. With two Olympic silver medals in her possession, Mallo is among the growing number of women athletes proving that pregnancy can be a new beginning rather than the end of a career.
