Tuesday 17 May 2016

That Moment When: Nzingha Prescod

This article originally appeared in the June 2016 issue of SELF.

Nzingha Prescod was doing lunges during practice in 2014 when she felt a sharp, pinching pain in her right hip. It turned out she needed surgery for torn cartilage. “It was scary,” she says. “I didn’t know if I’d even be able to continue fencing.” The Columbia University grad dedicated herself to an intense five months of rehab. But her comeback was more than just physical. “I had to change my mind-set,” she says. “Instead of thinking about losing, I focused on what I could control.” Ready to compete again come 2015, the Brooklyn, New York–based athlete entered the fencing world championships, where she fenced 2012 Olympic gold medalist Elisa Di Francisca. “Against someone so respected, I’d usually think, It’s my time to be out, but I ignored my doubts and trusted myself.” Prescod won the bout, and she’ll take that confidence to Rio de Janeiro this summer. “I know that I can beat anyone in the world,” she says.

Nzingha Prescod’s Road To Rio:

Nine: Prescod’s age when she started fencing at the Peter Westbrook Foundation, a nonprofit fencing club for inner-city youths in New York City. Now, she volunteers there.

10: Prescod’s world ranking in foil fencing.

First: In 2015, Prescod became the first African-American woman to win an individual medal at the senior world championships.

Top, Uhlmann; TheFencingPost.com for similar styles. Pants, $240, and foil, $70, Uhlmann; TheFencingPost.com. Shoes, Adidas, $69; TheFencingPost.com.

Styling, Taylor Okata; Hair, Dana Boyer for Bumble and Bumble; Makeup, Suzy Gerstein for Lancome; Manicure, Yukie Miyakawa for Dior Vernis.

To learn more about all Olympic hopefuls, visit teamusa.org. The Olympics begin August 5th on NBC.

For more, pick up the June issue of SELF on newsstands, subscribe, or download the digital edition.

The post That Moment When: Nzingha Prescod appeared first on SELF.

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