UNIVERSITY PARK — She did it.
Former Penn State fencer Monica Aksamit, a member of the United States women’s fencing team, captured a bronze medal the at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio. Her squad routed Italy, 45-30, to clinch third place Aug. 13.
According to Aksamit, even several days later, it still hasn’t sunk in.
“It’s truly amazing. However, most of the time, I don’t really believe it to be honest,” Aksamit said from Rio. “I frequently check the drawer that I keep it in to make sure that it really happened.”
Aksamit is the second former Nittany Lion fencer to win a medal at this year’s Olympics. Miles Chamley-Watson was part of the bronze medal-winning men’s foil team.
For Aksamit, the road to an Olympic medal was not an easy one. Everything had to break perfectly for her to get to the medal stand.
“I came into this as an alternate. I wasn’t actually an Olympian. Going into the day, I only hoped that I would be subbed in at some point so that I could become an Olympian. Had we had a close match against Italy, I’m not sure that it would have happened,” Aksamit said.
Aksamit said that she came to Rio with high hopes, but was really just soaking it in along the way.
“All that I wanted from these Olympics was the experience. I didn’t want to set any expectations, as that opens the door for disappointments.,”
As she received her bronze medal, Aksamit said that she was overcome with emotions.
“I asked myself if this was all really happening. I also tried really hard to fight back tears, and ultimately failed. But I just thought about my journey to get her and how grateful I am that things turned out how they did.”
With the bronze around her neck, Aksamit let it all soak in.
“I felt a lot of emotions. I was in disbelief that I was standing up on the podium at the Olympics. I felt relief, that all of the money, time and hard work that I’ve put into all of this through the years wasn’t for nothing. Someone pointed out that I took a deep breath after they put the medal on me. And that was kind of a ‘I did it’ breath.”
Once off the medals stand, Aksamit received congratulations from around the globe. To say that her family, friends and supporters were “blowing up her phone” would be an understatement.
“I currently have a Brazil number and phone, so I’ve mainly been using that. But my iPhone receives iMessages back in my room. When I came back that evening, I had 42 iMessages. That’s on top of the texts and calls that I received on my Brazilian phone and the ones that I haven’t received because my iPhone is on airplane mode.
“I definitely look forward to turning my iPhone back on stateside.”
Since she earned the bronze medal, Aksamit has become a fan at the Olympic Games. She even took time out to pose for a photo with U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps.
Once she returns from Rio, Aksamit has one thing on her mind — rest.
“I have an injury that really needs to rest in order to heal. And in that process I’m going to try to map out the next four years,” she said. “I’m going to stick around for Tokyo.”
