Alex O'Connell (fencer)
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Alexander James O'Connell |
| Nationality | British |
| Born | 17 April 1988 (age 33)[1] |
| Height | 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in)[2] |
| Sport | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sport | Fencing |
| Event(s) | 2008 Olympic Games |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Olympic finals | 2008 |
Alexander James O'Connell (born 17 April 1988) is a sabre fencer who, having won various national and Commonwealth awards, competed for Great Britain at the 2008 Olympic Games.[3]
Sporting career[]
In 2005, O’Connell won the cadet world championship in Austria. In the following year, he was selected for the England under-20 Commonwealth team in India, where he won gold in the individual and team events. In 2007, he placed second at the Junior Men's Sabre World Cup in Göppingen, Germany. He has come in first, second, or third in numerous National and International Championships.[citation needed]
He competed for Great Britain at the 2008 Olympic Games, where he seeded 39th, and was eliminated by Nikolay Kovalev in the first round of competition, narrowly losing 15-14.[4]
O'Connell was one of a group of four fencers who unsuccessfully appealed their rejection from the British team at the London 2012 Olympics.[5]
Personal life[]
O'Connell grew up in Brentwood, Essex, with a brother three years older, and a sister four years younger; both siblings also fenced. His parents, of Irish descent, are a solicitor and property developer, and a part-time teacher.[6]
Educated at Brentwood School in Essex and Churchill College, Cambridge, where he studied Classics,[2] O'Connell is now a lawyer with Freshfields Bruckhaus Derringer in London.
In 2017, O'Connell married author Ruth Gilligan in Ireland, after they met in college in 2008, and became engaged in 2016.[5]
References[]
- ^ "Olympic athletes - Alex O'Connell". International Olympic Council. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Olympics fitness file: Alex O'Connell". The Guardian. Scott Trust. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Alex O'Connell". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
- ^ "Fencing: Olympic sabre-rattling proves sport still can be noble". The Daily Telegraph. 12 August 2008. Archived from the original on 17 August 2008. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "London 2012: Fencers' Olympic selection appeals rejected". BBC. 30 May 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ "Teaming up with Mum and Dad - Alex O'Connell". The Guardian. Scott Trust. 26 July 2008. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
External links[]
- Alexander O'Connell at the International Fencing Federation
- Alex O'Connell at Team GB
- Alex O'Connell at Olympics.com (archived: Olympic.org)
- Alex O'Connell at Olympedia
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- 1988 births
- Living people
- British male fencers
- Olympic fencers of Great Britain
- Fencers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- British fencing biography stubs