USA fencer with Vincy roots competes in Rio tomorrow

Apart from the four persons who have been selected to represent St Vincent and the Grenadines at the Rio 2016 Olympics, another person with Vincentian roots is participating in the Games, but as part of the United States delegation.{{more}}

Nzingha Prescod, who competes in the sport of fencing, will make her first appearance in the Rio Games tomorrow, Wednesday, August 10 against Nataly Michel Silva of team Mexico.

The 23-year-old graduate of Columbia University is the daughter of Vincentian Marva Prescod, a registered nurse and attorney at law in New York City.

The 5’4” Prescod weighs 138 pounds, and is consistently ranked among the world’s top 16 in the sport of fencing.

This will be her second Olympics, having competed for the US in the 2012 games.

In an online exclusive interview with ESPN, The Magazine’s Body Issue 2016, a confident Prescod cleared up certain myths about fencing.

“Yes, there are black fencers. Yes, fencing is a “real” sport and requires you to be very athletic. I feel like there’s this myth that it’s just something you see in movies. But it’s not. It’s really fast-paced and high-energy, and you have to be really athletic and able to change directions and change speeds. It requires a lot of control and endurance.”

Prescod acknowledged that she is an idol to black girls and stated that she wants to make them proud, show them that they can “do this,” and give them the platform to achieve.

In an interview with Refinery29, Prescod said she hopes for a medal, although it is a “huge task,” and said she would take it one step at a time.

Team SVG consists of track and field athletes Kineke Alexander and Brandon Valentine-Parris and swimmers Shne Joachim and Nikolas Sylvester.(AS)