NAME/ Richard Kruse

D.O.B/ 30/07/1983

HEIGHT/ 190cm

WEIGHT/ 83kg

PROFESSION/ Athlete/Fencer

NICKNAME/

ACHIEVEMENTS/ 8th in World Ranking (July 09), 8th Athens Olympic Games, 14th Beijing Olympic Games, 2nd European Championships 2006.

MANTRA/

RITUAL/ Just before I fight I take a 5 minute lesson from my coach to sharpen up. I then put on my tracksuit and keep my body as warm as possible whilst keeping my head cool. This ritual usually works well as it catches the opponents napping - as they have to use the first few hits of the fight to warm up properly!  

FAVOURITE SiS PRODUCT/ Chocolate and Orange GO Bars - which seem to have formed a staple of my diet these days.

TOP TIPS/ Hydration is essential in not only sport but day-to-day life in general. Ensure you are hydrated throughout the day because small dips in hydration can have vast consequences in fitness and concentration levels. Concentration throughout a fencing fight is crucial, as the fight progresses the fencer that mentally fatigues will make more and more unforced errors. Therefore being dehydrated is inexcusable for a world class fencer! Also, be aware that to hydrate yourself it is not always sufficient to drink just water as this does not replace the salts and minerals lost in sweat.

TRAINING PLAN/ (approximate weekly routine)
What our squad does in a week depends entirely on which part of the season we are in.
At the end of the season we'll completely rest for a few weeks and then start the build up with running and various other strength and conditioning training. We will then progress to fencing skills and lessons. Only about 3 to 4 weeks before an event do we start hard competitive fencing. The week before an event we just take very short lessons of high intensity because this keeps us fresh and hungry for the competition. When we training the hardest (i.e. on a tournament training camp) we can do up to 11 fencing sessions in
a week.

WEBSITE LINK/ www.britishfencing.com/British_Fencing.asp?PageID=1307