Please excuse Rebecca Ward if she seems tired during orientation. She will be less than a week removed from fencing in the Olympics.
Ward, an incoming freshman fencer, has a chance to win two gold medals in the individual saber and team fencing competitions in Beijing.
In 2006, Ward won gold in the individual saber competition and a silver medal in the team event at the World Fencing Championships. Now, Ward is No. 1, having won almost every international competition.
The only hardware missing from her thing case is an Olympic medal. Although the Olympics will be the biggest competition of her young career, Ward said she is preparing for it like it's any other event.
"I haven't changed my training all that much," said Ward, who hails from Beaverton, Ore. "I've just kept training the way I always have, with a bit more cross-training."
Ward won't have much time to dwell on the results. The team competition ends Aug. 14. Freshman move-in is just five days later.
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