Kenyan German-born fencer Alexandra Ndolo has exuded confidence in her potential to bag a medal for Kenya at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in France.
Ndolo, 37, will fly the nation's flag at the premier quadrennial global showpiece that will run in the French capital from July 26 to August 11.
She enters the annals of history as the first Kenyan fencer at a major global competition.
Ndolo punched a ticket to the Olympics after wrapping up 11th at her final qualification tournament in Nanjing, China, in March.
There, she became the highest-placed African after wrapping up 15th on the International Fencing Federation world ranking log, ahead of her closest African challenger, Ines El Batoul Taleb of Algeria, who ranked 41st globally.
“I'm glad I'm representing the country in Paris, and I'm ready to do my best and make the nation proud. I'll give it my best shot,” she said.
Ndolo said she felt thrilled after securing the historic feat and promised to leverage her presence on the big stage.
“I was happy to finish the Olympic qualification cycle on a high note. I've been working a lot since then, and I believe there is still a lot to be done before the beginning of the Olympics in July,” she said.
“I already feel like a winner after making Team Kenya. I'm ready to make it count. Paris, here I come,” Ndolo said.
She is proud to be the first Kenyan fencer in history to qualify for the Olympics in the sport.
“Oh yeah, and I might just have written history by qualifying for the Games as the first Kenyan fencing athlete ever. For this, I am extremely proud, and I can’t wait to fly the Kenyan flag high at the Olympics,” she added.
Born to a Kenyan father and a Polish mother, in Bayreuth, a German town in Northern Bavaria, Ndolo plied trade for Germany for close to two decades before switching allegiance to Kenya in July 2022.
She was cleared to hold a brief for the East African nation at the Paris Olympics in June 2023 before sealing her ticket in March.
She experienced a bumpy ride on her way to the Olympics, where she found herself digging deep into her own pockets to finance her aspirations and her trips to qualification tournaments.