St Mary’s School, Waverly fencer ranked 94 at 2025 Wuxi China Junior and Cadet Fencing World Championships
St Mary’s School, Waverly learner, Nikita Venturas, was the top-ranked fencer in the U17 Cadets category.
St Mary’s School, Waverly learner, Nikita Venturas, not only reflected on her fencing journey, but competing at the FIE World Championships in China and being selected by the South African Sports Confederation Olympic Committee (Sascoc) to compete at the Anoca Games in Algeria.
The Grade 9 learner said that the 2025 Wuxi China Junior and Cadet Fencing World Championships, which took place in April, was an interesting experience.
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“This was the first time qualifying for a competition at an international level. This event included over 1 694 athletes from approximately 100 countries, sending their best athletes of that year across foil, epee and sabre fencing categories.”
Nikita competed as an U17 Epee Cadet athlete and out of 123 athletes, she ranked 94, which she remains proud of since she competed against athletes who ranked 1st and in the top 10 in the world.
The fencer began the combat sport in 2010. “I was drawn to the sport because it provides multiple opportunities for university, and I enjoyed the thought of doing something different and owning a sword.”
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Nikita added that not only was it exciting to be chosen by Sascoc to compete at the Anoca Games in Algeria, but was also chosen due to owning a high national ranking in South African fencing FFSA (Fencing Federation of South Africa) that she has maintained for the past three years, making her the leading athlete in the South African U17 Epee and South African U20 Epee rankings 2025.
“Previously, I won a silver medal in U17 Women’s Épée and a gold medal in the team event at the Cadet and Junior African Championships in Angola, March 2025,” she noted.
After Algeria, Nikita headed to Greece for a training camp held last month to continue pushing her fencing to new heights.
“For the training camp, I was situated in Thessaloniki, Florina, where we had training twice a day, the first being from 08:00 to 11:00 and the second being from 16h00 to 18h00. I trained against people from different countries, varying from Macedonia, Greece, Cyprus and many more.”
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