Alexandre Bouzaid (born 29 June 1981) is a French-Senegalese
épée
The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains ...
fencer representing Senegal in international competitions. Twice African champion (2010 and 2011), he took part in the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
.
Career
Bouzaid was born in
Kaolack
Kaolack ( ar, كاولاك; wo, Kawlax) is a town of 172,305 people (2002 census) on the north bank of the Saloum River and the N1 road in Senegal. It is the capital of the Kaolack Region, which borders The Gambia to the south. Kaolack is an i ...
, Senegal, but raised in
Libourne
Libourne (; oc, label= Gascon, Liborna ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
It is the wine-making capital of northern Gironde and lies near Saint-Émil ...
, near
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
, in France.
He is of Lebanese descent. He began fencing at the age of four at his local club.
He became won the French national championship for his age class in 1996. Two years later he earned a gold medal at the Cadet World Championships in
Valencia, Venezuela
Valencia () is the capital city of Carabobo State and the third-largest city in Venezuela.
The city is an economic hub that contains Venezuela's top industries and manufacturing companies. It is also the largest city in the Valencia-Maracay m ...
.
He reached the final five times out of six participations at the 1999 Junior World Cup.
After his
baccalauréat
The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...
Bouzaid transferred to the Saint-Gratien fencing club in the Paris area and undertook physical education studies at
INSEP
INSEP, the National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance (Institut national du sport, de l'expertise et de la performance), is a French training institute and center for excellence in sports that trains elite athletes. It is located on th ...
, a state-sponsored institute for high-performance athletes. He later turned to
business studies
Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource management, a ...
at ESG Management School, then at
ESSEC Business School
The École Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (more commonly ESSEC Business School or ESSEC) is a major French business and management school, with non-profit association status (French association law of 1901) founded in 190 ...
. He won a team silver medal at the
2007 Summer Universiade
The 2007 Summer Universiade officially known as the XXIV Summer Universiade and commonly known as Bangkok Universiade, was an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport for university athletes that took place from 8 to 18 August 2007 in Bangkok, ...
and an individual silver medal at the senior French championships.
After he failed to qualify to the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
Bouzaid, who holds
dual citizenship
Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on ...
, decided to fence for Senegal.
He won the
2010 African Championships after defeating Egypt's
Ahmed Nabil and posted a last-16 finish at the
2010 World Championships and 2011. His second straight gold medal at the
2011 African Championships against Egypt's
Ayman Mohamed Fayez
Ayman Mohamed Fayez or Ayman Alaa Eldin Mohamed Fayez (born 3 March 1991 Giza, Egypt) is an Egyptian fencer who competed in the 2012 Olympics and 2016 Olympics in Men's Individual Épée.
Fayez was African champion in 2009, 2012 and 2017, also w ...
qualified him to the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
as the top-ranked African fencer. In London he defeated 15–9 Poland's
Radosław Zawrotniak
Radosław Aleksander Zawrotniak (born 2 September 1981 in Kraków, Małopolskie) is a Polish fencer who won a silver medal in Men's Team Épée (Fencing) at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, together with Tomasz Motyka, Adam Wiercioch, and ...
in the first round, but lost 11–15 to reigning World champion
Paolo Pizzo of Italy.
References
External links
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archive
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouzaid, Alexandre
1981 births
Living people
Senegalese male épée fencers
French male épée fencers
People from Kaolack
People from Libourne
French people of Lebanese descent
Senegalese people of Lebanese descent
Sportspeople of Lebanese descent
Fencers at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Fencers at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Olympic fencers for Senegal
Sportspeople from Gironde