The reigning Ohio State athlete of the year award winner isn’t running back Chris “Beanie” Wells or linebacker James Laurinaitis. A fencer from Boulder, senior Andras Horanyi, was voted that honor last spring by the athletic department, although few on campus might recognize him. A three-time All-American, Horanyi (hor-an-yee) is the two-time defending NCAA individual champion in foil and helped Ohio State win the 2008 national championship last March. Horanyi, 22, arrived at Ohio State in 2005 as one of the nation’s most heavily recruited junior fencers. He chose the Buckeyes over two other fencing powers, Notre Dame and Penn State. A member of the U.S. Senior National Team, Horanyi placed second in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in foil, just missing a spot in the Beijing Olympics. He has his sights set on the 2012 Games in London. Horanyi took a few minutes to chat with The Denver Post’s Tom Kensler.
Q: Give us a little bit about your background, Andras. Did you grow up in Boulder?
A: Yes, I’ve lived in Boulder most of my life. I was born in Tallahassee, Fla., but moved to Boulder when I was about 5. My parents came to the U.S. from Hungary before I was born. They are both physics professors at the University of Colorado.
Q: Do your parents have a fencing background?
A: No. They don’t fence.
Q: How, then, did you get into fencing? It’s not exactly a mainstream sport.
A. When I was 11, I went to the Boulder Creek Festival in the spring and there was a fencing booth set up by Northern Colorado Fencers. You could try it (fencing) in that booth, so I did. It was fun, so I went to a weeklong summer camp. I just stuck with it. Since that camp, I’ve fenced about every day.
Q: Your bio says you led the Boulder-based Northern Colorado Fencers to three junior-division national championships. Did the sport always come easy to you?
A: It took a lot of work. I had a lot of disappointing years that I struggled through. But I was fortunate that it all came together.
Q: CU does not have an NCAA fencing program, so you had to go elsewhere. Why Ohio State?
A: I was also looking at Penn State and Notre Dame. Ohio State, Penn State and Notre Dame are pretty much the top three fencing schools. I picked Ohio State because of its business school and the coaching staff.
Q: The bio of your head coach is incredible. Prior to emigrating to the U.S., Vladimir Nazlymov was the USSR’s head coach from 1986-88. During his days as a fencer, he won 10 individual world championships and earned three Olympic medals. Is it amazing to be coached by somebody of that stature?
A: It’s a little intimidating because he’s so good. But he knows what he’s talking about and you can learn a lot. It’s a great experience to be coached by somebody of that level. He knows so much about fencing and what it takes to win. He expects a lot of his students. But that’s a good thing. It makes you perform at a high level.
Q: Which was more special to you, winning two individual NCAA championships in foil or the team winning the 2008 national championship?
A: Definitely the team winning. You’re with the team all year, and it was really nice to see it all come together. It’s hard to win the team championship. Everybody has to fence well. So it meant a lot more.
Q: Do you and your Ohio State teammates feel a lot of pressure to defend the national championship later this month?
A: Yeah, there is a lot of pressure. But it’s not something that most of us haven’t dealt with all our lives. When you spend your whole life competing, you kind of get used to it.
Q: What does it take to become a champion fencer?
A: It’s probably the same as it is for most sports. It takes a lot of dedication, a lot of time. And there is some luck involved at some point. Things have to fall in the right place. Fencing is a little like tennis and boxing. You have to judge the distance between you and your opponent. You have to keep that distance right where you want it, to where you feel comfortable.
Q: What are your post-college plans?
A: I’m going to stay here in Ohio for a while, because I want to train here (under Nazlymov) for the 2012 Olympics. After that, I don’t know. At some point, I’d like to open my own business, my own store — probably a sports store with snowboards and skis. That’s pretty far down the line, though.
Top five things
Horanyi misses about Boulder:
1. The mountains
2. Skiing and snowboarding
3. The weather
4. Pearl Street
5. My family and friends
