Alanna Goldie Interview
Excited to bring you another Fencing interview today and our first interview with an athlete who is just back from Tokyo as we chat with Canadian foil fencer Alanna Goldie. Alanna gives us a great insight into how coming from a fencing family helped get her into the sport, and why she was so keen to start earlier than she could. We also learn about her experiences competing at the Youth Olympics back in 2010 and how that helped her when it came to competing at the full Olympics 11 years later, as well as how she was able to overcome the disappointment of not making Rio in 2016 to help spur her on towards her eventual Tokyo ticket. Added to this we learn more about her special friend Albert, some new epic ways to improve team fencing and just how she is a global trend setter. It’s an epic interview that you simply can’t miss!
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Please note this is an automated transcript that may contain errors.
BEN WATERWORTH: It is Off The Podium, an Olympics podcast coming to you today for another exciting interview. Our second taste of fencing, Alanna Goldie, a Canadian fencer, our first athlete that we've had on the show post-Tokyo who competed in Tokyo, her very first Olympics. And this is a great chat with Alanna, learning a lot about her history in the sport, how her family helped her get into it, her experiences at the Youth Olympics, our very first athlete that we've had on this show that has been to a Youth Olympics and how that actually helped her eventually when she got to the Tokyo Olympics. And a lot of other great stuff in here, everything else in between. You're gonna love this chat, and we're gonna hear it right now. Here is our chat with Canadian fencer, Alanna Goldie.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's a massive pleasure to be able to welcome our next guest here to Off The Podium, our first Olympian returning from Tokyo. She competed in the women's team foil event, where Canada went on to finish fifth in that event, and has also had a pretty interesting and stellar career in the sport of fencing, and one that I'm very intrigued to learn a lot more about today. Please welcome to the show Alanna Goldie. Alanna, first of all, welcome to Off The Podium. It's a pleasure to chat with you today.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Thanks for having me.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's exciting to get you on for many reasons. And as I just said there in the introduction, you are our first athlete on this show that we've had, who has been to Tokyo. A lot of people who obviously going to Tokyo, but now it's post Tokyo. You're the first one who has competed there. I mean, how are you feeling right now to sit here to think that you are officially an Olympian? I mean, you were an Olympian when you made the team, but it's all happened now. You're back. That title, which will stick with you forever, it's happened. You are an Olympian.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, it's definitely weird. It almost hasn't set in. We had an event the other day at a Canadian football game, and they were honouring all the Olympians. And it was weird because they're like, okay, Olympians, go to the stage. And I was like, oh, that's me. I'm one of those. So I don't think it's ever going to set in, but it's cool to remind myself every now and then, be like, hey, you did it.
BEN WATERWORTH: Now, you come from a very esteemed family of fencing, which I'd love to hear a little bit more about. But when you got into the sport, was this something that you always aspired to, that you wanted to reach that goal of making the Olympics?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah. So my sister, she started fencing when I was two years old. So I've kind of been around the sport from as long as I can remember. And my dad is president of Canadian fencing. And I had a coach when I was young and literally from the get-go, he said, like, Alanna is going to go to the Olympics. And I was like, well, if he believes it, I'm going to have to. So I think it was always the main objective. And it's crazy to think that I've finally reached it.
BEN WATERWORTH: When it comes to being around sort of a family of fences, obviously, you know, you can't exactly escape it. But was it something that from an early age, you remember seeing your sister and your dad being involved in it, thinking that's something I want to do? Or is it because they encourage you more to sort of get involved? And how did it sort of all come about that you decided to pick up the I was like saying sword. I kept calling it sword to Max. I'm going to keep calling it sword, Alanna. It sounds cool.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, so they didn't really like push it on me. Like, I was never told, like, you got a fence, you got a fence. My sister, my sister's coach, who eventually became my coach, would always say, like, oh, Alanna would be such a good fencer. Like, she'd be a really good foilist, because my sister did FA. I actually have a brother who fenced too, who did saber. So we kind of covered all the bases. And so, yeah, my sister's coach always said, like, Alanna's going to fence. She's going to be so good. But no one was really forcing me to do it. But I really wanted to, because my sister or my brother were my biggest role models. And I was like, I want to be like them. I want to fence like them. And so I begged my parents and my dad kept saying, like, not until you're eight, you got to wait. And so I would, like, put on my sister's fencing mask and, like, show them, like, look, I can lunge now. And you feel like you still have to wait. And so then eventually on my eighth birthday, my dad's like, yeah, you can fence. And I hated it, actually. I thought that I would pick up a foil and I'd be just as good as my sister. And obviously, that was not the case. Fencing is a very technical sport. And when you're eight years old, that doesn't quite quite happen. So I had no clue what I was doing and I started losing a lot. And I was like, well, this is awful. Why would anyone want to do this? And my dad was like, well, you just begged me for the last how many years to do this sport. You're going to do it for at least one year. And so he made me stick it out. And we were living in Texas at the time. And once we moved back to Canada within that year, I started fencing at the club here and I fell in love with it. And so I'm glad that he kind of like was tough on me and made me stay in it because if it was my little kid choice, I would have been out of there.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which why is it you have to wait to eight? Is it sort of an age requirement or more of a safety requirement to kind of wait to that age?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, now kids tend to start a little bit earlier. When I was young, they didn't have kid length foils or weapons. So right now, when you're you can start around like six or seven because the weapons are a lot lighter. But when I started, they didn't really have those yet. So in order to just hold the weapon, you had to be a little bit more developed than the younger kids. It's also really a technical sport. So kids, they kind of like when you watch little kids, then they just like whack the blade and try and stab each other. So you have to be a little bit older to understand like the game behind it. So you usually have to wait until you're like between like seven and eight. But now they're actually starting kids younger around six.
BEN WATERWORTH: We obviously mentioned we spoke with Max von Haster just before Tokyo. And I realised Max is from East Coast Canada, Quebec area, Montreal. You're obviously from Calgary, more West Coast. And I know with some sports in Canada, it's sort of there's more participation levels in one half of the country than the other. How is that with fencing in Alberta, sort of West Coast area towards BC? Is there a lot less than the East or is it kind of spread out evenly? Kind of what was that like, particularly for yourself growing up in Calgary?
ALANNA GOLDIE: It's kind of changed over time. So right now, there's kind of like a few main hubs. There's Montreal and Toronto on the East side, and then there's Vancouver on the West side. When I was young, Calgary was the place to be. There was a lot of high level fencers here. Most of the men's national team for foil was here, and most of the women's FA national team was here. And then my coach passed away in 2011. And after that, it kind of like died off. A lot of people left Calgary and what other places because there wasn't a high level coach. So Calgary has been off the map for a really long time. But more recently, my teammate Kelly Ryan and her husband, who's actually my coach, Alex Martin, have moved to Calgary. And now Eleanor Harvey, my other teammate, is moving here. So we're kind of reviving the city. And it's really cool to, we're kind of building it from the ashes. All the foundations here, but we're trying to bring the spirit back to Alberta. So Calgary, it's on the up.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, I have to ask, just while I've got you on the topic of Calgary, we had Scott Gow on a week ago, also from Alberta. And as a Calgary Flames fan, I have to check in to make sure you go for the right team, Alanna.
ALANNA GOLDIE: If I didn't cheer for the Flames, I think my brother would never speak to me again.
BEN WATERWORTH: Right, okay. I would never speak to you again. I would honestly hang this call out right now. I was nearly gonna wear my Flames jersey today just, but then I thought like, it could be quite offensive if all of a sudden I just assume that you are, and then all of a sudden you wouldn't answer the call, so.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Oh yeah, if you had an Oilers jersey on, I might have to hang up, but we're good.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, if I had an Oilers jersey on, I think my skin would burn, but that's a whole other topic. One place that you competed in, which I think you actually might be our very first athlete to have ever competed at a Youth Olympics, you competed back in 2010, which I would love to learn a little bit more about the experience of that, because that was obviously the inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore, so the very first time they had happened. I mean, do you remember sort of much of that experience going in and kind of what that meant going to not only, I guess, a Youth Olympics, but the very first ever Youth Olympics?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, so Singapore, it was interesting because it was the first one, so I had no idea what it was. And so it wasn't like I had it on my radar, like I want to go to this, this is going to be something I'm going to try and qualify for, which you see people doing now. For me, it was more, I did well at the Junior Worlds, which was the qualification for Singapore. And then they called me up and they're like, you qualified for the Youth Olympics. And I was like, oh, that sounds fun. And it was an amazing experience. Like Singapore is such an incredible place. And to get to compete with like that kind of level and then that kind of stage, it's very similar feel to like the full Olympic Games. So it's really cool as a kid to just like get to experience that and to see how excited all the people in Singapore was. And it was also interesting because for Youth Olympics, only one athlete per weapon from your country gets to go. So I was also completely alone. I was the only Canadian women's boy list, so I had to kind of make friends with other Canadian athletes, and that was really cool. And I still have those friends today because we kind of had to stick together. So it was cool to like meet all those other athletes, and we got to stay there for the whole 20 days of the Games. So it was probably one of the best like sporting experiences I've had.
BEN WATERWORTH: Because I think it's really interesting to hear that sort of comparison from Singapore to obviously Tokyo, because I guess a lot of what the IOC has probably tried to achieve with that is to give young people that taste so that they can aspire to use that fuel to go towards a full Olympics. And I said, you're our first one that we've really been able to talk about that. And I've always been intrigued to see just how that experience would compare at a Youth Olympics to the full Olympics.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, like a lot of things were the same, like the equipment check, the village, like everything felt the same. It's just like a smaller scale, I guess, unless people like know about it. But everything like was almost identical to Tokyo. So it was really cool to like, when I was in Tokyo, I was like, oh, I've done this kind of thing before. And it really did like help prepare me for that.
BEN WATERWORTH: The one aspect of the Youth Olympics that I've always been fascinated about too, is we've seen in Tokyo a lot of mixed events, but obviously the Youth Olympics do the mixed countries events, sort of the mixed NOCs. So therefore you almost compete as a region. Now you ended up with a bronze medal as part of the team. And that was a mixed region. So what's that like to kind of, not only, I guess, win a Youth Olympics medal, but you're competing with people from your entire region. So as you said, you're the only Canadian for your discipline. But then you obviously got, I'm guessing, Americans, Mexicans, people like that on your team to kind of share that bronze with.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, that one is an interesting event, because it was me and there was a Canadian men's epic, and then the rest was the American team. And usually, the Canadian team and American team, well, words, American team and Canadian team are enemies, and we don't really mix very much. We're still friendly, but we know we want to beat them. They want to beat us in a healthy way. And so it was kind of interesting, because these people who had always seen as like, oh, it's the US, they're so good. I really want to beat them. They then became my teammates. And it's cool, because throughout the day, we kind of became closer and closer. So at the start, we were all like, okay, I guess we're a team now. And then by the end, we were all in it together. And I remember the press conference after we were talking, and we're like, yeah, we're actually a team by the end of it. So it was cool to see the change from the start of the day, we're just kind of like, we're different people. And then by the end, we're full on teammates. It's really cool.
BEN WATERWORTH: And then afterwards, you just go back to hating each other, right? And then you got to compete against each other?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, exactly. We just go back to not talking anymore.
BEN WATERWORTH: Actually, while on that topic, when we spoke to Max, discovered a little bit of a friendly rivalry he had with a fellow American, well, another competitor from America, Gerrick Meinhardt, who I'd seen, he always seemed to get beaten by him, I think. And then he said, Gerrick would buy him beers. And I noticed Gerrick went on to win a bronze in Tokyo. So I'm still thinking he owes Max some beers. Do you have an American competitor in your sort of area, which you've always seemed to come up against and try and spin it more so that you get the better of her rather than, you know, she's always having to opt to buy you beers?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, so actually one of the girls I've fenced her from the day one is Lee Kiefer, who actually won the Women's Oil event in Tokyo. So she might be on top for this one. But she, her and I were in the same age in university. So like we're about a month apart in age. So when we were at World Championships, when we were young, I fenced her over and over again. There was one Worlds where I fenced her three times. And then she went to Notre Dame, I went to Ohio State. So in the NCAA system, we were always together. So her and I have always been, just can't escape each other. But she's a great girl. Whenever we have camps, we hang out and stuff like that. She's wonderful. So I want to beat her. I got to get her, especially now that she's Olympic champion.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, I was going to say right now that she's got a gold medal around her neck, jeez. Does that though add a little bit of extra, like when you will come up against her next, knowing that she has that gold medal? I mean, not only does that give you a bit of extra spark to want to try and beat her, but I mean, then when you do beat her, that all of a sudden you're like, hey, I beat the Olympic champion, so that must mean that I should have won the gold in Tokyo.
ALANNA GOLDIE: It's not so much that I should have won, but it makes it a little bit more fun. Like I remember one year in Cancun, I went up against the Olympic gold medallist from London. And I was like, oh, this is so cool. Like, I'm just happy to like be there fencing her. And then I ended up winning. And I was like, oh, okay, this is cool. Like I can compete against these people.
BEN WATERWORTH: I always say that with anything, right? Like if you beat somebody who's meant to be that way, like if we get more listeners than Joe Rogan one day, then we're clearly the best podcast in the world. I mean, it's simple logic, right? That's how exactly, that's exactly how it works. Speaking about Ohio State, how is sort of the fencing program when it comes to the NCAA? Because, you know, I think the NCAA, I think in college football, I'm thinking basketball, I'm thinking all sort of the sports that get all the attention. But when it comes to a sport like fencing, I mean, just how competitive is it in that system in North America?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, it's a little bit crazy. So pretty much the majority of the top athletes in the women's foil ranking from like my age year went to NCAA schools. Like our NCAA championships had people who were all in the top 16 at the World Cup the week before kind of thing. So it's really competitive. And a lot of the American girls go to Ivy League schools, and it's a huge Ivy League sport. So the system is packed with high level fencers. And like the NCAA championships is one of the hardest competitions because you fence 23, five touch belts. And if you win, if you lose, you gotta fence them all. So it's like just survival of the fittest by the end. Like I said, Lee Kiefer was in my year and she was losing to some people, like random schools, people we never heard of. Cause by the end of the day, you're just like emotionally and completely physically drained. So it's like a whole different beast. Like it's not even like World Cup fencing. It's just the whole, its own planet.
BEN WATERWORTH: What's that then the college atmosphere like when you're on the fencing team versus say, you're hanging out with people from the football team, the basketball team. And I mean, when it comes to the whole Buckeyes culture, is that kind of just like, you know, it doesn't matter what sport you are. It's obviously a very cultural aspect of representing Ohio State out there.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, that was one of the coolest parts about Ohio State is it's such a big sports university that every sport has like its own highlight. Like it didn't matter if you're on the fencing team, the soccer team or what you were like seen as an athlete. And we had like so many resources. We had an athlete only library. We had tutors, we had like training facilities. So it was like amazing to just go there and be with so many other people who were excited about sport. And it was nice to have sport kind of integrated into my university because I had a lot of professors that were really understanding when I said like, oh, I have to go to a world cup this weekend. They'd be like, yep, great. As long as you get your assignment in, or if you need to do it later, if you want to send it in early. So it was nice having the ability to have professors be like, yeah, you're good. Just send it in and it'll go compete and come back. And it's all fine.
BEN WATERWORTH: I love that casual nature of it. You're just going to work up this weekend. Sure, well, just submit it by five o'clock tomorrow and you'll be golden. You know, it's just kind of expected. Also in 2010, it was interesting to read about your success you had at the Canadian Championships that year. You were the first woman to ever win national titles in the cadet junior and senior divisions all in the same year. I mean, when you're hitting targets like that, you're going to the Youth Olympics. Is that when you sort of, your coaches that you're saying like, sort of saying that the Olympics are possible? I mean, do you get that belief then to yourself that, okay, this is my goal now. I am going to make an Olympic Games because I've got the ability. People are backing me up with that ability. So this is where I'm going to aim for.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, for me, it was more, I would just kind of like focus on one thing at a time. I think that's why I did have success when I was young, is I was never really looking like, oh, I'm going to go to the Olympics. It was kind of just like, oh, I'm going to win this competition I'm at now. And then I finished that one and I'd go to the next one. Now I'm going to win this one. And I didn't really like look forward at all. It wasn't until I was older where I was like, okay, we need to start buckling down, focusing on the long game here. But when I was young, it was kind of like, oh, I just won a boat. Now I'm going to win the next one. And I didn't really think you could put the world champion in front of me. And I'd be like, oh, I'm going to try and beat her. It's kind of like ignorance is bliss when you're little. So when I was younger, it was definitely like, I would just try and win every boat I got to. And it kind of worked out.
BEN WATERWORTH: With the family stock too in the sport, given that none of them had made the Olympic team, but I'm sure maybe got closer and that along the way. I mean, do they then sort of talk to you and kind of maybe go over some of the things that maybe they had wished they could have proved them to help you out so that therefore they can see you go on to succeed where maybe they didn't, or maybe they didn't necessarily have the, I guess, reasons or ways to get to those places that they could then help you out to go towards the goals eventually.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, my family's been a really good support system. Like my dad in general has helped me plan what competitions I'm going to go to and kind of guide me in the right way of should I go to this training camp? Should I go to this competition? And so he always took a lead in that. My sister, she was the one who was on the national team. My brother never quite made it there, but my sister was on the national team. And when I was young, because I made my first ever senior World Cup team when I was 13 or 14, and so that was really intimidating because I had to go to this camp in Montreal where there was me by myself and I didn't know any of the older girls and I was kind of a bit of an outsider. And my sister was also there. So she really helped me in those little moments when I was young being like, okay, my sister's here. And she kind of helped me from afar. She was never really overbearing or micromanaging me, but she would kind of subtly steer me in the right direction. Like now I can notice that at the time I was just completely didn't see it at all, but she was like nudging me the right way. So it's cool to have a family that like understands the fencing part, but they're not overbearing. And my dad's never been one, like if I have a bad competition, he's always the first one to be like, you're fine. Like just keep moving forward. Same with my like sister and brother, like they're so supportive. So it's good to have a family that understands the drive you have to have to be a high level athlete, but don't like make you feel less of a human if you don't achieve what you're trying.
BEN WATERWORTH: I can imagine those dinner conversations are fun then with your mum, if you've got your dad, your sister, yourself and your brother all competing then. I mean, is your mum just a fencing mum? I mean, does she compete herself kind of? How do those conversations work?
ALANNA GOLDIE: She tried fencing. She didn't really like it, but she is the ultimate fencing mum. Like when we were little, she would go talk to all the parents and she'd have a cooler full of snacks for all the kids. Like she was like the biggest supporter and she would drive us to every practice, all the competitions. Like she did all the actual leg work, the hard stuff.
BEN WATERWORTH: We talked to Max a little bit about kind of the technicalities of the sport, the training and everything along those lines you mentioned before about how technical the sport is. Has there been a certain level or a certain aspect of the sport that has always been, I guess, maybe your speciality when it comes to certain strategy and sort of the way it is? I mean, are you more of an offensive fencer? Are you more of a defensive fencer? Has that sort of changed over the years?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, so when I was young, I was really good at counter-attacking. So I was super good at like avoiding my opponent and like sneaking out of the way. When I got older for some reason, I changed to being really offensive and I just loved to like run people down. Like there's a joke on our team that my boat either, I either win it in a minute or I lose it in a minute. Like it doesn't last much longer. And that kind of came into play in the team event because we kind of found early on that I was really good at getting a lot of points in a short period of time. And so we kind of found this strategy in, I think it was probably right before the London Olympics, where they could put me into a certain bout in the match and I'd be able to just run up the points. And we've like used that until like recently, we still use it as a tactic. So it's kind of interesting that I changed when I was young from being very defensive and like counterattacking to being a very offensive attacker and how that's kind of played into our team because my teammate Eleanor and Kelly's also very defensive. So I'm kind of the other side of that. And that's why we make such a good team. My other teammate Jessica kind of plays both. So with the four of us together, we kind of covered like all of the bases.
BEN WATERWORTH: And is that in the team event then, is it a set structure? So you have to fence in a certain order or can you then sub you in and be like, okay, we're down on this. We need to be a bit more offensive right now. Kind of like a soccer game. You've got to send on an attacker at a certain point when you're down one-nil. I mean, is it kind of, does it work that way?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, so you can have substitutions. The way a team event works is you have three fencers on each team and one person is on the bench. And you have to fence each person from the other team in a certain order. And you can make substitutions. So you can either sub somebody in, bring them out, that kind of thing, but you only do like one sub per match. At the Olympics, it's a little bit different because you're only allowed one sub at all. So you kind of have to like pick your time and like really commit to it there. But usually we kind of use it as a tactic. We'll try and like have someone line up with another person at a certain time of the match and like play tactics that way.
BEN WATERWORTH: Now, why in a team event are you all facing each other one on one? I think you should be all like four on four. I think it should just be like an epic duel, you know, to the death, basically, you know, last woman standing. Why isn't it done that way?
ALANNA GOLDIE: I think it should. I feel like they haven't got the electronics there yet.
BEN WATERWORTH: I mean, for audiences watching, it would be absolutely epic, right? You know, like-
ALANNA GOLDIE: It'd be more fun for me too.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah. Add some Star Wars music to it, some Jewel of the Fates. Like, you know, you would be really- We added, we did plenty of commentary during the Olympics, and we'll get to our fencing one in a moment. But for sailing, for example, we added Parts of the Caribbean music to it, and it made it a hundred times more epic. So I'm just, for the kids, they're all about the kids at the Olympics. So that would work.
ALANNA GOLDIE: No, I'm all for it.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, exactly. I mean, we were doing our sort of our fencing commentary. Had a bit of fun with it. But the thing that I love about watching fencing is just, it's the energy, it's the excitement. You get a point, and they're screaming, and you're just, you're sort of, you're turning and you're pumped up. And even when you both sort of hit each other and you think you've both got it, and there's one of you having that initial disappointment. I mean, what is that like in mid-match when you're just, you've gone on a roll, you're just absolutely on top of things, and that energy, that pump up, it must be a special feeling to be able to kind of get, get that feeling while you're doing that.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, it's actually one of my favourite parts of the sport. My boyfriend and I talk about this a lot because he doesn't really understand like the screening. He's like, why is everyone always screaming after each hit? Because he's a cyclist. He's actually laughing right now. He's a cyclist, an Olympic cyclist, and he's like, that's so dumb. Like, why are you all celebrating every single hit? And I was trying to explain to him the other day that there's like this intensity, and you're like so on edge while you're in the middle of the match that when you hit, it's kind of like a huge relief and a celebration because you're like, oh, I did it. And then you're like, okay, back focus. So he doesn't understand it, but I think it's one of the coolest parts of the sport.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, he can bring that to cycling, Carney, like every single lap, like crossing the line, just yeah, yeah, and then just, you know, kind of really put the other cyclists off. I mean, it's all about the line games.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, exactly. Then they wouldn't know what to do.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, exactly, exactly. After sort of that experience in 2010, sort of throughout, you know, the 2010s with everything that you achieved, obviously a lot of success through the Pan Am Games, the Pan Am Championships, going on to World Championships to that. How close were you to, say, Rio? Well, you mentioned sort of London there before. Was there any opportunities for you to kind of make the team back in 2012 or 2016?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, so for Rio, I actually, unfortunately, got a concussion right in the heart of our qualification season. So I had done a few competitions. I was still like within grasp. Like I wasn't leading the fight at all, but I was still in the game. And then first couple weeks of university, a freshman clonked me in the head with her guard of her weapon. And I was out for two and a half months. So by the time I was able to come back to fencing, it was too late in the game to make any crazy moves back up. And coming back from a concussion is such a slow, long process. So after the concussion, I kind of had to get rid of my goal of Rio and accept that I wasn't going to get to go to compete, which was really hard at the time. But I had to refocus and accept that, yeah, this thing happens at sport. It's not the end of the world, and I'm still healthy and alive, and I don't have any horrible concussion symptoms like some people do have. So I had to kind of just readjust my goal on the fly. And I actually got to go to Rio as a training partner for my teammate Eleanor. And that was a tough experience because it was kind of like, oh my God, I'm not here competing. But it was also really cool to be there and like feel the energy. Cause then when we got to Tokyo, it was kind of like, oh, I felt this. Like I know what this is like. So it was really good to see how the Olympics happened and experience it that way as hard as it was, cause it really helps me get ready for Tokyo.
BEN WATERWORTH: I was gonna say quickly though, fencing is not really a sport I assume with concussion too much. So I'm not sure sort of how common concussion is in fencing.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, it actually happens more than you think. I've been hit a few times, but it happens a lot more in like saber where you're actually like going for the head. But yeah, it's usually the guard of the weapon hits the person and it's like the right angle. Mine was kind of like a crazy accident. I was just standing there and she was like out of control and hit me. And I was just like, I think I got hit in the head. And then my team is like, you think or are you sure? I'm like, no, I think I did. And then I was walking home from class that day and I felt like the world was like wishing by me. And I was like, I'm not okay. And so I called up the doctor and he's like, I think you have a concussion. And then it got a lot worse from there.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, it wasn't Lee, was it? We're not just trying to go on this long page of these American rivals that we need to really just, Lee and Garrick, right? Just geez, these people, we just need to go on there. But I mean, when it comes to the training and everything that you're doing from a physical aspect, from the sport, how much training do you have to add for that mental aspect so you can recover from obviously that disappointment of not making Rio? Or is that something that you added after that experience then to try and work with a sports psychologist or something to kind of help you clear your mind from that disappointment and push towards 2020?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, I kind of worked with a sports psychologist, but I mostly just like changed my focus. I spent a lot of time being like, oh, woe is me, I got a concussion, I don't get to go like that kind of stuff. And then I kind of just decided that the pity party was over. And being sad about it wasn't going to change anything. So the only thing I could do to make myself feel better was to dive back into fencing and go to the NCAA Championships and work on those small goals until I was back in the game and Tokyo was around the corner.
BEN WATERWORTH: In the lead up to Tokyo, 2019 Pan Am Silver Medal in the team competition, also other medals along the way in the Pan American Championships. When it comes to the team and the individual aspects of it, is it similar to say, let's go with tennis, where say maybe you've got a doubles player, they specialise in doubles tennis over singles tennis. I mean, can you do that in fencing? Can you be more of a team fencer than you can be an individual? Or is it sort of a sport where you can really be balanced in both because a team is more about combining all the best aspects of the individuals coming together for that event?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, team in fencing is actually interesting because you can be both. You can be an amazing team fencer and an amazing individual fencer. And then you get some other people who are better at one or the other. Like a lot of people can't work in the team event, and there's some people, like I strive a lot more in the team event because I love fencing with my teammates. I love being in that atmosphere. So there's people that do both, but there are some people that kind of struggle on either end. But for me, it was more like the team feeling of the bout and being able to get those hits with my teammates. And the victory almost feels a little bit sweeter when you're with other people. Like when you're alone, yeah, you're happy, but you're the only one up there. But when you went with the team, like the feelings, it's different. So for me, the team side of fencing was always a little bit more exciting.
BEN WATERWORTH: In terms of the success of Canada, I mean, in the lead up to the Olympics, World Championships, a few top six places, obviously, we'll talk about the Olympics in a moment, go on to finish fifth. I mean, is there a genuine feeling amongst your team that you are a genuine medal contention at all of these events you go to compete in? Because, I mean, you're knocking on the door when it comes to sort of getting closer and closer, it seems, to ultimately meddling at a world level in the team event.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, that's kind of like the interesting part of our team is when I first joined, we were ranked in the 16s, like I think we were 14 or 15. And Canada is just a walkover. Canada is an easy boat to win, and we weren't really like giving people a good fight. And then it was until the World Championships right before London that we ended up making the top eight for the first time. We beat Germany and kind of ruined their Olympic goals. And it was kind of fun. But so we beat Germany and we made that top eight and we did it just because we all believed so much in each other. And if you looked at the world ranking, like our team versus the German team that we beat, they were all in the top, like maybe 32 in the world and we were all in the 64s. So it was the fact that we could be ranked lower, but beat this team just because we believed in each other and we trusted each other and we were ready to just fight like until the death, essentially. So it was exciting to see that. And I think we've kind of continued that throughout our career as a team is as people change within our like team dynamic, we've had a few athletes come and go. We have always kept that feeling of we don't care who we fence. We're just going to believe in each other. We're going to trust each other. And we're going to give whoever it is a really good fight and see what happens.
BEN WATERWORTH: How was the delay for the Olympics? Had you qualified prior to them being delayed or was your qualification confirmed after the delay? I mean, kind of what was that whole experience like?
ALANNA GOLDIE: For fencing, we actually finished our last team competition, which qualified us right before the pandemic. So the individual qualification wasn't quite finished. That didn't happen until after the pandemic, but before our team was qualified. So we did know that Canada would be sending four people to the Olympics, which was kind of nice throughout the pandemic because we always had that like goal, like the light at the end of the tunnel, like we'll get to go, we'll get to go. So that was really nice. And then after, I think it was March last year, we had our final competition for the qualification season, and then it was like official after that. So we always knew that we were gonna get to go, but it was always like, well, we still aren't officially qualified, but we're gonna act like we are. So like the weight was interesting. For us, we had a lot of team problems in the last season before the Olympics. So the 2019 or 2018-19 season, we were having the worst luck on the planet. So the first competition, one of my teammates, Eleanor Harvey, gets hit in the arm and breaks her wrist. So we're already down a man. The next competition, we had to Paris, and I come down with COVID. I'd get extremely sick. It was right at the very beginning before it had really spread that bad. And I was pretty much in bed for the full week before we were supposed to compete. And then we had a World Cup there. And because Eleanor was already gone with her broken wrist, we didn't have an alternate. And so I still had defence. So fever and all, I put on my gear and competed. It was hard. It was so hard. And so next competition, my other teammate Kelly ends up getting food poisoning. We still don't have an alternate, so she has defence. And then finally, we get to the last qualification competition of the year. And we're like, okay, the team is back together. Eleanor's healthy. Everyone's feeling good. We just got to finish this competition. We'll be qualified for the Olympics. It'll be good to go. And Jessica ends up rolling her ankle in the individual event. We're down to three. The night before, Eleanor gets food poisoning again.
BEN WATERWORTH: What is she eating?
ALANNA GOLDIE: She gets food poisoning.
BEN WATERWORTH: Stop eating things, Eleanor. You're getting sick all the time. There's something going on there.
ALANNA GOLDIE: She gets sick, was up all night throwing up. Kelly was fine. Go, Kelly. And so Eleanor's like, okay, I'm gonna have to fence. Jessica can't walk. And we're fencing the German team. I'm going backwards, roll my ankle. So we're like, okay, somebody's telling us to stop.
BEN WATERWORTH: Like something is happening. There's something going on in the universe there at that point.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, exactly. Like something is telling us that we need to calm down. So we had to withdraw from the event actually, which was the first time we'd ever had to do that. So we withdrew. We still ended up qualifying because of the way our ranking system works. And then we're like, we haven't fenced a team event at all before the Olympics. Like we've had the worst luck. We had a coach in our program that was extremely toxic and just making a horrible environment. So things weren't looking good. And kind of the view of it I had is, I just need to get to the Olympics so I can quit fencing after that, because this is just so bad. And then COVID happened, and we all kind of had to like take a step back and like reevaluate things. And we had like Alex and Kelly decided to move to Calgary, and Alex became my coach. And he just gave me like a completely new look on fencing and changed my view. And it wasn't, I need to quit this sport anymore, but more like I need to like find a love for it again. And so we got rid of that toxic coach, he got fired. We spent more time together as a team, working together within Canada, instead of like spreading out and going to different places in the world like we had been before. And we came together a lot better. And so I kind of think that that extra year was almost our saving grace, because if we would have had to go to the Olympics, I would have been, we probably would have got eighth, and I probably would have quit by now. So as horrible as COVID is, it did give us a little bit of a second life for our team.
BEN WATERWORTH: So it was interesting to hear that from many athletes who have said that the extra year helped them. I mean, obviously, for every story like that, there's an opposite. I know a lot of athletes, it's been the opposite for them. But I mean, that is a crazy stretch of bad luck. I mean, I'm sort of wondering about the diet. So some of you there, they need to kind of keep an eye on there. But competing basically with COVID, I mean, I'm trying to see the positives of that, Alanna, that maybe you could give your other competitors COVID, so that therefore, you just wipe the field out more if you're sort of more recovered from it. So trying to see a silver lining in that. But that's crazy.
ALANNA GOLDIE: It was before COVID was like a known thing. Like at the time, I just thought I had some kind of weird virus because I was completely knocked out. Like I have never been that sick in my life. It was my lungs were on fire and I didn't recover from it for like months and months and months. Like it wasn't until like almost like the end of the season that I was starting to feel normal again. So it's kind of crazy how serious COVID was.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, there's two levels of that. Put that on your CV of how badass you are that you competed while having COVID. And secondly, you can also be a bit of the trendsetter, right? You know, when you like a band and they're not that cool and then like five years later, they're the biggest thing in the world where you can be like, well, hey, I got COVID before it was cool.
ALANNA GOLDIE: So, yeah, I started the trend. I don't know if I want to be known for that trend.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah. Yeah, just hopefully you didn't, you know, visit a wet market in China beforehand. That's what you're trying to say. You're you're patient zero here, Alanna.
ALANNA GOLDIE: That's what I didn't eat any bats. I'll let you know.
BEN WATERWORTH: All right. Just just to clarify that. So when it came to the individual aspect of it, I know Max kind of talked a little bit about the qualification process beforehand, but how how was your ranking and everything going into the individual side of things? I mean, how close were you to qualify for Tokyo as an individual athlete?
ALANNA GOLDIE: I was definitely in the running. Like I said, we had a very toxic coach and his influence actually affected me a lot in the individual event, more than in the team. In the team, I could kind of separate myself from his like bullying and his like toxic behaviour because I had my teammates there for support. But a lot of his like bullying happened one on one. So when I was out there on this trip alone, I had a way harder time of just focusing on fencing and like enjoying the sport as it is. So that really started to hurt my individual ranking because I would get out there and I would almost freeze. I'm like, I can't listen to like the words he's saying anymore. Like the things he's saying are so hurtful, I can't focus on the bout. So his influence kind of took me away from the individual's side of fencing. And the only way I survived was through team. So I was in the fight for individual, but it wasn't like I was like a point away kind of thing. It was I had to make a good result at the last competition, and I was almost there, but not quite. And it's kind of one of those things I had to come to peace with. Like I am a team fencer. I love team. Team's one of my favourite parts, and I just have to accept that I wouldn't get to go for individual, and I'd have to focus on team.
BEN WATERWORTH: In all of that, everything that you were talking about through all the bad luck, the struggles, the situation with the coach, kind of the pandemic, when you officially got given that ticket that you were going to Tokyo, you're handed your Team Canada uniform, you're seeing the rings on it, everything that you would work towards had finally happened. What was that moment like?
ALANNA GOLDIE: It was interesting because nothing really hit me until the second I stepped onto the strip in Tokyo, because in my head, I was like, well, you're not there yet. Like, maybe the games will still get cancelled because there was a lot of talk of, well, they're going to get cancelled. No one wants you there. No one wants the athletes. So I kind of had to keep myself in check because I felt like if I started being like, I did it, I'm done, I'm done, that some crazy thing would happen and I wouldn't get to compete. So I kind of had to keep reminding myself like, yeah, you've made it this far. And until you step onto that strip, you aren't an Olympian yet. And so it wasn't until I got subbed into the match and I was walking up the stairs to the strip that I was like, oh, shit, this is happening. This is a real thing. And I was like looking at the Olympic rings on the ground. I was like, hell yeah, this is super cool. Like now it's real. So it's funny that I was like in the village. I was experiencing everything. I had my team candidate gear, but it wasn't until the moment that I stepped on that strip that I actually felt like, okay, this is real.
BEN WATERWORTH: And is it a case of when you discover it's real, is there nerves? Is there excitement? Is there a kind of a collection of both feelings when you finally are out there ready to go?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, there's a little bit of both. I think if you're not nervous in sport, then you probably should quit because you aren't in it anymore. So I think you have to be nervous in order to be in the moment truly. But I was super pumped. I was so excited. I had my team cheering for me, and I was just ready to take on the world. It was a really good feeling. I was scared. I was excited. And I just kind of had to remind myself, enjoy it. You're not going to feel this feeling very many times in your life, so feel scared, feel excited, let it just soak in.
BEN WATERWORTH: And in terms of given that the team event was sort of obviously after the individuals, was it a case of given that you had gotten to watch a lot of the competitors kind of experience that from a spectators perspective, realised what I guess things like atmosphere and that would be like at the Unique Games? Was that sort of a help for you to kind of have all that build up before you did get to compete finally?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, it was kind of hard to watch the individual event just because as a competitor, you always want to be out there and you want to be fighting. So it was hard, but I was so excited to be there like screaming for my teammates because we didn't have an audience like we normally would in an Olympics. So I got to be like everybody's support person. So that was cool. And to see like how people dealt with their nerves and how people were scared and they dealt with it and like all that little stuff. It was cool to get to watch that beforehand. So that by the time that team hit, I like didn't have to think like, what's the crowd going to be like? What's the rafting situation? What's the call room like? It was all finished and I could just be like, oh, I just do this, this and this, and I'm ready to go. And this is what's going to happen and kind of thing.
BEN WATERWORTH: When it came to the event itself, you draw France in the first round, which I can imagine is always a little bit of a tricky situation to kind of have to go against France, the eventual silver medallist. I mean, when you go into a fight like that, when it comes to a nation who are so esteemed on that level, I mean, what's the psychology like? Kind of, you know, do you have to try and play a bit more mind games outside of the strategy as well? Because they probably go into that thinking like, as you were saying before, like Canada, you know, we're going to win this one easily, but you want to go in there, and I guess kind of stir the pot a little bit again. I mean, these are the French, like they're so good at fencing, we've got to get under their skin a little bit to try and show that we're no easy beats.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, I was personally pretty pumped to fence France because we hadn't got to fence against them very much that year or the year before. So it was cool to go against somebody that we didn't have a ton of bouts with, because sometimes when you fence like a country you see a lot, it becomes like redundant, and you kind of like get scared you're going to fall into old patterns. So it was cool going against France because we hadn't fenced them a ton, and we hadn't fenced them in a long time. And we also knew that we kind of had like the upper hand in the sense that they would be nervous fencing us, because if they lose to us, it looks pretty bad. So they were going to be a little bit more on edge, but we thought they would overestimate us, and they didn't. We were kind of hoping that they'd come in and be like, oh, it's Canada, we're going to kill them, and they did their research. They watched videos, they had clear plans for each of us, and I'll give it to them, because they were ready to fight, and we just couldn't keep up, and that's just how sport goes sometimes.
BEN WATERWORTH: One thing that's always fascinated me when it comes to certain events in the Olympics is the whole idea behind a classification bout. So you obviously have to go over that disappointment of losing your initial bout, but then it's like, hey, you've got to come back to have that ultimate goal of finishing fifth in your case. I mean, is there aspects of it where it's kind of like you don't really care? It's like, okay, well, we're out now, fine, we ultimately didn't get to achieve what we wanted to, or is it the opposite? Do you kind of go, okay, well, you know, we didn't, but we want to come out and finish the best we can, which you ultimately did. You go on to finish the best place that you can finish on those classification bouts in fifth.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, for us, it was kind of we wanted to win that. Like, we lost, and my teammate Jessica was pretty upset. She felt like she had let us down, which is not true. Like, it's a team event. You win as a team, you lose as a team, but she had felt a lot of the burden for the loss of that bout, and she was pretty upset, and she came off the strip, and she was crying, and I remember saying to her, like, it's okay, like, this is just a game. We're all gonna live after this day. It's gonna be fine. But the only thing we can do now is win the rest of our bouts. So we can sit here and be sad that we lost to France, or we can get out there and we can just continue to fight and do the best we possibly can with this situation. And then everyone kind of rallied after that, and we were the only team that was able to do that. We kind of crushed the next two teams because we were the only ones that were like, hey, we're going to win. And it's not an if or when, but it's happening. We're doing it right now. And we took the fight to them when they weren't quite ready. So I was really proud of how, as a group, we really took that loss, we mourned it for a second, and then we just got right back out there and decided that hey, we're going to do the best we can with what happened.
BEN WATERWORTH: And at the end of the day, you walk away as finishing fifth in Olympics. I mean, that sounds pretty amazing to kind of come out and say that. So ultimately, everybody wants a medal at the Olympics. Of course you do. But at the end of the day, too, coming out and saying you finished fifth, I mean, that's no mean feat to be able to come out and say, I'm an Olympian who finished fifth at the Olympics.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, it's definitely cool to have that. Like, obviously, every athlete wants that medal, and you always feel like a little bit of loss when you don't have one. But I'm proud of where we've come from, to be a team that barely would qualify for the Olympics, from the Olympics a few years ago to not qualifying at all, to being a team that's fifth is a huge leap for Canadian fencing. And I think with the team that we have now, we have so much potential. And the fact that we just got fifth when, in the past, no one would even think of us as contenders is like a huge sign for Canada and the growth that we're going to have in the sport.
BEN WATERWORTH: Because I remember talking to Max a little bit about the fact that it's a sport that Canada has never medaled in the Olympics, but it seems to be that you're getting closer and closer. So how does that spur the team on ahead of Paris and even yourself, Alanna? I mean, you were talking before about that almost, you know, quitting the sport or feeling that need after the Olympics, you'd be quitting. But I mean, does that kind of now spur you on it? As we kept hearing throughout the Olympics, Paris is only three years away. So it's kind of, it's obviously a lot closer than it would be in a normal Olympic cycle.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, what I love about our team is we have this like feeling amongst us where we always want to one up each other. And it's in like a completely healthy way. It's not like, oh crap, she did better. Like that sucks. But it's like, oh, I saw her do this. I'm gonna do it now. And Eleanor, my team and I always had that when we were younger. Like I won a Junior World Cup and then she won the next one. And then it's like kind of when you see people who are like you doing something that you're like, oh, she trains in the same country that I trained from. Okay, well, I'm going to do that too. And I hope that's what like younger fencers can kind of take from like our team succeeding in the Olympics and in the future, hopefully, that you see people who started where you started. Like I train with a lot of young girls, and I hope that they can see that like, oh, she did that. So I can definitely do that. And then kind of like push those like historic best Canadian results that our program keeps getting and keep like making them better and better by saying, well, she did it. I'm going to do it now.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which going back to what we're talking about before about say, fencing in Calgary, I mean, that must then spur a lot of the juniors to kind of go on to try and reach where you guys have, particularly if you've got a large portion of the team now, now based in there. I mean, that obviously I can imagine helps in recruiting new young fences and particularly, you know, female fences, I can imagine to the sport as well.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, we really want to gross like the female aspect of fencing in Canada. We are less than the male side. So I really want to help girls like get into sport, stay in the sport. And now Eleanor and I are both coaching at one of the clubs in Calgary. So it's good to like be there, like hands on helping these kids like learn how to fence. And it's really cool going back to the basics and like talking to people. And it's cool because I remember when I was young, I would see the Olympians are at the club and be like, wow, like they're so human. Like they're just people like they're here. They're training with me. They're not like these crazy celebrities that you find in magazines and you see on TV. Like, no, they're just people. And I think that was always like something that I held on to is like that person. She went to dental school and also went to the Olympics, and I could do that stuff too. And it just made it seem a lot more obtainable as a kid.
BEN WATERWORTH: Just on the experience of Tokyo, because obviously, you know, you mentioned you get a bit of that taste back in Singapore, going to Rio, there obviously adds that experience to it as well. But I mean, was it still the similar Olympic feeling during Tokyo? Given how different it was, was it a noticeable difference? I mean, can you describe a little bit how it was like as an athlete throughout the Tokyo Olympics?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, it was really interesting because COVID was very apparent. We were training in Colorado Springs before, and in the States, their COVID restrictions are very lax, like people don't wear masks, stuff like that. So we kind of felt like we had left the COVID verse, and then we got to Japan, we were like right back in it. So we went to a training camp in New Mazu for the week or 10 days before we went into the Athlete Village, and we were tested every day. We had to serve our food with gloves, masks, everything. We weren't allowed to go on any floor of the hotel, except for the one where the Canadians are on, and we weren't allowed to go anywhere outside of the hotel, except for walking to the venue on like a very specific route. Once we got to the Athlete Village, we had to be COVID tested every single morning. But other than that, it didn't feel too weird for fencing, especially because we don't usually have like insane crowds. Like at the Olympics, we tend to have like a full house, but like at World Cups and stuff, it's never packed. So we still had athletes allowed to go cheer. So the like aspect of the competition didn't really feel that like strange or different from normal. But once you're in the Athlete Village, it felt very normal and like way more like the Singapore experience where athletes are just out and about, you're going to eat whenever you want. Like obviously everyone's wearing masks and getting COVID tested, but there wasn't like this like huge fear of COVID everywhere. Like it was kind of like unknown, but it wasn't like people are like COVID, COVID, COVID. Like I didn't even know what the numbers in the village were until my sister told me one day. So it kind of felt like COVID was around, but it wasn't like the star of the show.
BEN WATERWORTH: You already had it. You know, again, trendsetter, which I can imagine, though, come Paris, fencing in Paris would be amazing in terms of crowds, because obviously fencing is a huge sport in Paris. So that's got to be one of the big ticket items in 2024, which then in terms of you competing at an event like that, not only in a country that loves fencing, but in Olympics. I mean, gosh, that must be an epic thought to compete in France in 2024.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, it would be really cool, especially in the team event there, because I think we did well in Tokyo, but we have so much more that we can grow. So it's really exciting to just think of how far we can continue to move as a team and that we've just scratched the surface of our potential.
BEN WATERWORTH: I want to get to some fun questions to close this off, to learn a little bit more about you, Alanna, because we like to do this on the show. But just a couple of quick little things. I believe you were studying criminology, is that correct? And sort of outside of fencing, I mean, what is the goal? What kind of do you hope to kind of get from that? Or is this a question that literally everyone asks you all the time when you're sick of people asking you?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Well, people ask it a lot, and I never know the answer. I still don't know the answer. I had a lot of plans pre-COVID, and I had my life like laid out. And COVID hit, and I was kind of just like, oh, those all don't make sense anymore. So kind of the goal right now is I'm going to potentially keep fencing, coach the club in Calgary here, Epic Fencing, with my teammates, and then maybe in the future look to join the Calgary Police or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
BEN WATERWORTH: On that, when you do that, and also during the Olympics as well, did you bring Albert along with you for your good luck, and did he help, and will he help towards those future goals moving forward?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, Albert's been on every single trip. I got him when I was young at a fencing competition because I was pissed off because my brother and sister had their own hotel room, and I had to stay in the room with my mum and dad, and I was a salty little kid. And so I was really ticked off, and my mum was like, fine, we're at like Shoppers Drug Mart, which is like a Canadian pharmacy. And she was like, fine, you can like pick out stuffed animals. I picked out Albert, and it was in St. Albert, Alberta. And I was like, fine, he's coming on every trip. And I took him, he's been everywhere. So I don't know what's going to happen if I don't have Albert there, but I'm not going to find out. Like Albert's coming, you die.
BEN WATERWORTH: Don't want to do that. You'll get food poisoning, you'll get COVID, you'll get concussion. It will just all pile up. And another question, I mean, he's with you in the room there. I think you mentioned your partner, Vincent. You said, obviously, cyclist. Also believe represented Canada in speed skating and a couple of other Olympics as well. Have you been tempted to kind of go from summer to winter, to do the opposite of what he did? So what sport do you think you could look at maybe towards? I don't know if you could quickly qualify for 2022, but 2026 potentially is a goal.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, I joke about it all the time because he's the king of sport. He does a little bit everything, and I think he's going to do sport until he dies. He's joked about going from bobsleigh to curly and to whatnot.
BEN WATERWORTH: Hey, that works.
ALANNA GOLDIE: I don't think I can keep up, but I've joked about bobsleigh, but I don't think I'm big enough. Or maybe when I'm old, I'll jump into curling. But I'm really bad with the cold. I hate anything cold. It's not for me. So I like to be indoors and not in the freezing. So I'll stick to the summer sports.
BEN WATERWORTH: I think there's two options for you moving forward. I think that A, you could just choose any sport and come to Australia. Just say, I'm a Canadian Olympian. We will put you on any team here. It worked in moguls. Dale Begg Smith won us gold in Turin, and then in Vancouver, he got a silver. So thanks to Canada, we had some Olympics there. But I'm also thinking Nordic Combined. We had Nathaniel Maron not long ago, and kind of he talked up the struggles that Nordic Combined has in Canada for funding and everything. But I mean, you go along, create all this publicity around this Olympic fencer who switched to Nordic Combined. It would bring funding, and then you get to ski and ski jump. I mean, that's kind of, it translates from fencing. I think I can see the correlations there.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, you need your legs. It's the same.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, exactly, exactly. And I'm sure that Nordic Combined athletes can beat COVID too. Yeah, there you go.
ALANNA GOLDIE: It's the same sport.
BEN WATERWORTH: Exactly the same sport. We close this out with a bunch of fun questions. Now, I've said that Team Canada didn't do this this year. They used to do on the website of My Name Is Questionnaire, where they would get you all to fill in, I guess, a survey and kind of write out what you want to do. I guess it might have done it before for us sort of back in Pyeongchang, because I know they used to do this a lot of the time beforehand, but they didn't do it for Tokyo. So I can ask you these questions. I can't get you to draw things, though. As always, we can give you homework. You can draw things and send them in to us if you really want to, but we're not going to force that on you. So we'll start off with, what is your favourite ever Olympic moment? And you are always allowed to say your own Olympic moments.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Oh, my favourite Olympic moment. This is kind of an obscure one, but there was this moment when we were watching the Olympic Games in Rio. It was the men's foil day, and there was four belts that always happened at the same time in fencing. And every single belt was 14-14, which meant one point would win. And there was at the same time, all these belts were so close, and every person in that room was on their feet. It was crazy. So that was amazing. My second, I have two, I'm going to give you two, was when women's soccer won the gold in Tokyo. We all went to a bar in Calgary, all the athletes that were here, and seeing them win was just crazy. It was so exciting. And the emotion that you could see on everyone, just so much joy. It was great.
BEN WATERWORTH: Was there any from Calgary? So when you got to go to the CFL game recently as Olympians, did you get to meet any of them and hang out and talk to them about their experiences?
ALANNA GOLDIE: None of them were there, I don't think, but when we were watching the game, the now-fiance of the goalie was there watching with us, who Georgia, she does cycling, and so she was there watching. So to see her reaction to her now-fiance getting the gold, it was crazy.
BEN WATERWORTH: I feel moving forward, we're going to get that answer a lot, and a thoroughly deserving one. That was one of our hearts. We were on air when that was happening, so we were kind of giving our live reactions to it. That was absolutely insane. If you could choose any Olympic host city, what would it be? Well, where would it be?
ALANNA GOLDIE: I want to go to Australia. I've never been. I want to go to Sydney. I feel like it looks really cool. I've never made it that way, so it's kind of been on my bucket list for a long time.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, you've got 11 years to stay in the sport, to compete in Brisbane, now that Brisbane had the gold in 2016.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Maybe I'll have to go into archery or something.
BEN WATERWORTH: Hey, you know, equestrian. We just had a 62-year-old win a couple of medals in equestrian, Alanna. So, you know.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Oh, there we go. My sister-in-law has a horse, so I'll steal her horse and jump.
BEN WATERWORTH: You've got to start somewhere. A horse helps in equestrian. In your spare time, what do you most like to do?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Oh, I really like to camp and hike, kind of the combo of the two. I have a German shepherd, so her and I like to head out to the mountains, and we like to hit a few campsites when we can.
BEN WATERWORTH: Perfect. Does he take the bike? And are you too competitive? And you can just take a foil with you, and kind of like, hey, you can ride fast, but I can kick your ass with this thing.
ALANNA GOLDIE: We don't bike together. We've done it once. He's too good for me. I can't keep up. We did fence with sticks on a beach once, and it was terrifying because he only goes forward. The man has no backwards. So we fenced once. It was terrifying. I don't think I'll ever do it again. And the bikes, we keep the sports far apart. I don't think we can mix those two. It might end bad.
BEN WATERWORTH: I like that idea of the whole can't go backwards thing because he's just in sports that go forward all the time. You've got diversity. You can go forward and back. Come on, you're ambidextrous. Fencing and cycling and speed skating. I'm getting all the levels here on that side of things. One of the homework tasks, again, Alanna, it says to draw a picture of yourself. Again, you're welcome to. You can get Vince to draw a picture of you, maybe. You can kind of share the love there. What is the weirdest instruction a coach has ever given you?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Oh, the weirdest instruction? We have one thing that we've been doing on our team recently that's been quite interesting. We've been learning how to juggle. I don't know how it relates to fencing, kind of in like hand-eye coordination, I guess, but our national coach was really into juggling. So we've been doing a lot of juggling recently.
BEN WATERWORTH: I like that. Yeah, our national coach was really into juggling. So come on, everyone, let's juggle. Yeah. Now, that's one thing I don't see the correlation for. I'll think about that one. What is your favourite workout?
ALANNA GOLDIE: I really like to bike. Not with Vince, but I like to bike.
BEN WATERWORTH: I was going to say not with Vince. Just in your own time.
ALANNA GOLDIE: When I can go up hills as slow as possible. I like to bike, and I also like to lift. And I've kind of gone into chin ups lately because I went from doing zero to be able to do five. And I feel like that's pretty good improvement. So it's pretty satisfying. So I'll keep those.
BEN WATERWORTH: Take it. That works. What is your favourite sandwich?
ALANNA GOLDIE: I'm a grilled cheese kind of girl.
BEN WATERWORTH: That's nice.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Grilled cheese with a tomato soup.
BEN WATERWORTH: Now, is this... When I lived in Canada, I discovered that the grilled cheese is not a grilled cheese unless you do it in a frying pan. Is that the standard? Okay, so that's how we want to do it.
ALANNA GOLDIE: That's how you do it. That's what you have to do it. A pickle, a tomato soup, and it's cold.
BEN WATERWORTH: So you lost me at pickle. That's one aspect of your part of the world that I do not understand and I do not want to understand.
ALANNA GOLDIE: They're so good.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, see, just not an Australian thing. We don't do the pickles. Where's the type of people who go to McDonald's and get the cheeseburger and take the pickle out? That's weird. What a smear of pickles in this country if you do make of a Brisbane in 2032. There's another, the other homework task here, draw a picture of a Canadian animal. So this person here has drawn a moose. Of course they have. What else would they have drawn? If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Ooh, I feel like teleportation because I spend a lot of time on airplanes and it kind of sucks. So if I could just like be places, that would save a lot of neck pain and lack of sleep.
BEN WATERWORTH: All that jet lag, all that sort of stuff, completely eliminated. I like it. What to you is the best candy in the world?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Okay, so in Canada, we have fuzzy peaches, and they are the best candy on the planet. When I went to school in the States, they did not have fuzzy peaches, and I'd like call my mum, and she'd say, can you please send me these? I'd need them, and she'd send me, she'd go before Halloween and buy the big boxes and like ship them to me, because I was like, I need fuzzy peaches. So if you're ever in Canada, people, fuzzy peaches.
BEN WATERWORTH: Go the fuzzy peaches. All right, if you're in Australia, don't get fuzzy peaches, because that means they're mouldy and you don't want to eat them. They're probably sick. Yes, the candy fuzzy peaches. Now you sort of answered this one already when we talked about the flames. You might have some others, though. As a kid, your favourite sports team were?
ALANNA GOLDIE: My favourite sports team? I unfortunately used to be a Pittsburgh Penguins fan when I was in university. I loved them. And then I came back to Calgary and I was kind of like, I have to cheer for the flames. I have no choice. So now it's the flames, but I was a Penguins fan for a little bit there.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, I'll be honest, and I'm not ashamed to admit this. As an Australian kid, our first exposure to hockey growing up is, of course, the Mighty Ducks movies. So I do have dual teams. I am a Ducks and a Flames. I had to have a Canadian and an American team. But if I had to choose, if you forced me, it would be Flames. But I still am an avid Ducks fan, which both my teams suck at the moment, let's be honest.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, you're not picking the winners.
BEN WATERWORTH: No, I'm not. I'm clearly not. I mean, on this page, the next one is similar. Well, on the topic, I just mentioned the Mighty Ducks. This person answered the Mighty Ducks for this one. But your favourite sports movie is?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Ah, my favourite sports movie. It might have to be The Blind Side. I don't know why. It's just really good. I have no reason.
BEN WATERWORTH: Good movie. Good movie. Are there any fencing movies that you know of?
ALANNA GOLDIE: There is one that recently came out, and it's in French, but there are no good English ones. So maybe I should become a producer and make one, because-
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, I'm saying now, as a Bond fan just over my shoulder, you'll see the post of A Diner the other day. I know my co-host Colin right now is rolling his eyes at that. There is an epic fencing scene. James Bond fences.
ALANNA GOLDIE: There you go.
BEN WATERWORTH: If you haven't seen it, you can see it and watch James Bond fence.
ALANNA GOLDIE: There's a few fencing movies that kids always come in and they're like, I want to fence now. The big one's Princess Bride. Everyone's like, I want to be in The Princess Bride, and then Parent Trap, they fence in that too. Fencing kind of sneaks its way into movies every now and then, and then we get like a surge of little kids being like, I want to fence.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, you could get a movie made on yourself, you know, The Fencer Who Beats COVID, and then it will set a trend. So in 20 years' time, people will be answering The Alanna Story as their favourite movie, sports movie. That works. Third homework, draw your coolest Olympic medal. That's a very interesting picture I'm looking at here. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
ALANNA GOLDIE: I think just right on here. I love Calgary. I would probably move a little bit more into the mountains. Calgary is like 45 minutes from the mountains, but I would move into Banff, which is right in the heart of it. But I love Canada. I love the mountains. I love nature. And so I don't think I would leave this place.
BEN WATERWORTH: Perfect answer. You're doing your country proud. Justin is not kicking you out anytime soon. When you were little, what was one thing that you always thought? That's an interesting question.
ALANNA GOLDIE: I always thought. I always thought that I would be a fencer.
BEN WATERWORTH: And here I am. Look at that. Live your dreams, kids. That's how it works. I like that. I always like it when I find one of these ones, and they've got different questions than we've ever read out before. That's why we always open up different athletes and just don't use the standard question here, because I've never had that question before. Yeah, that's interesting. Very interesting one. Alanna, before we let you go, anywhere that people can sort of follow your journey, check out what you're up to, social media, want to plug anything else that you want to share with our listeners today?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, so you can follow me on Instagram at lana, L-A-N-N-A, Goldie. I also sell paintings on Etsy, and it's called Paintings by Lana. I have an Instagram page by that name and also an Etsy page, so you can check those out. I haven't done art in a little bit because I was at the Olympics, but there'll be new paintings soon, I swear. They'll be out. I just got to hunker down and do it.
BEN WATERWORTH: I love that excuse. Please put that up on your store. Sorry, BRB Olympics.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, at the office at the Olympics.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yes, so quickly, just what sort of paintings are they? What can people sort of check out?
ALANNA GOLDIE: They're acrylic paintings. I do a lot of custom pieces. I also do animals by different colours. I do landscapes. I do a lot of maple leaf lines with landscapes inside them, stuff like that, all acrylic.
BEN WATERWORTH: Any Olympic-based ones now that you're thinking that you've had that experience potentially, some Tokyo-inspired ones?
ALANNA GOLDIE: Yeah, I might have to do some Canadian Olympic ones coming up soon. Let's see what inspires me.
BEN WATERWORTH: Just have a picture of you beating Lee. Just, you know, a little around the neck, tears, all that sort of stuff going there. Alanna, pleasure to chat with you today. It's been a lot of fun learning about your Olympic experience and also your career. So all the best and we look forward to cheering you on in Paris in only three years time. We're just going to add that in there right now.
ALANNA GOLDIE: Awesome, thank you.
BEN WATERWORTH: Bye And a big thanks to Alanna there, a lot of fun, learning everything about her career and her experiences there in Tokyo. And of course, learning a little bit more about Albert. I think all athletes should have an Albert and help them moving forward. So if any athletes who come on the show want to share their stories about secret stuffed animal friends, then by all means, we look forward to hearing those stories. Big thanks to Alanna for her time there. Next week, a very exciting interview for you. We are speaking to a gold and bronze medallist from Atlanta and Sydney. Can you believe this is our first ever athlete who competed at the Atlanta Olympics and only our second athlete to have competed in Sydney? Kerry Pot asked, one half of course of the iconic beach volleyball duo that won gold on the sands of Bondi back in 2000. Every Australian remembers where they were when they watched that event. Of course, teamed up with Natalie Cook, won bronze in Athens, sorry, Atlanta. They went on to compete separately in Athens, of course, but the gold medal famously won in Sydney. And it's a great chat from Kerry, learning a lot about her indoor volleyball days back in the 80s and early 90s, what led her to switching to beach volleyball. Just some of the crazy things that her and Nat did in order to get their brains into gear ready ahead of Sydney 2000. And what it was like competing against Natalie Cook in Athens. They famously of course went on to play each other separately in the round of 16 at Athens. And it was a very unique experience for Kerry to have to go through that. So it's a great chat with Kerry. I know you're gonna love it. And our first ever volleyball athlete on the show as well. We're ticking off some of these sports that we've never had athletes on from the show in the coming weeks. And we know you were going to like that. So stay tuned for that. In the meantime, remember to stay tuned to our social media pages, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. It's where you can follow and stay up to date with everything along those lines. And while you're also out there, why not subscribe to the show on all the good channels out there, the podcast channels. We're on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple, Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, iHeartRadio. We're all on there. You can stay up to date with every single episode. Leave us some feedback while you're there. We'd love to know what you think of the show. And we always appreciate your support along the way. Big thanks again to Alanna. Tune in next week for Kerry. My name is Ben Ben, and it probably still will be next week as well. And we'll speak to you next time on Off The Podium.
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