At the Beijing 2008 Olympics, Zhong Man became the first Chinese man to win fencing gold, one of those moments shared in the collective consciousness of an entire nation. It was a 'where were you?' moment for those lucky enough to witness it.
Zhong's win was only the second Olympic gold in Chinese history, the first coming in the 1984 Los Angeles Games when Luan Jujie topped the podium in the female foil fencing discipline.
Fencing is France's most successful sport at the Olympics and Christian Bauer is one of its most famous faces. He's coached France, Italy, Russia and China to huge success.
With fencing center stage again at the Paris Games, CGTN caught up with Bauer, who guided Zhong to that gold medal win that shook the fencing world.
Bauer talked about the past, present and future of Chinese fencing.
Luan Jujie was the first Chinese fencer to win Olympic gold. /CFP
Chess with a sword
When Zhong won men's saber gold at Beijing 2008, hundreds of millions of Chinese people celebrated with him. Winning gold at home was a prize he didn't even dare to dream of, stunning the fencing world.
Afterwards he dedicated the win to Bauer, calling him "the best saber coach in the world."
Unlike foil and epee fencing, the saber fencer scores points if he makes hits with any part of his blade. The target area consists of the torso above the waist, the head and arms.
Fast forward to 2024 and Bauer is still coaching, a heavily decorated guru of his discipline.
"Zhong Man was a big talent. Big, big talent. And, my job was to give him the right way tactic and the strategy for fencing," Bauer told CGTN at his fencing school in Orleans, an hour-and-a half-drive from Paris.
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China's Man Zhong, (R), celebrates with coach Christian Bauer after winning gold at Beijing 2008. /Newscom
With athletes from 10 different countries training at his academy, Bauer's legacy looks set to grow even further this summer.
"I remember when he was in the final with the French guy, he was losing 8-6. And I saw the French guy, because Zhong Man was not a top ranked fencer at that time, thinking 'I lead 8-6, I am Olympic champion."
He continued: "I say to the Chinese guy, 'Don't fence, move. Play with him.' And after he put nine-zero to the French and won because the French fencer just wanted to finish."
Bauer's tactical reading of the sport they call 'chess with a sword' helped Zhong to gold.
So big were the celebrations afterwards that the coach couldn't even take a taxi without being recognized.
"I was very famous in China and even when I had to take a taxi, the taxi (driver) knew my name because it was everyday on television, every time fencing was on television, every day. And I was very happy."
Gold medalist foil fencer Ka Long Cheung of China (2nd), with Haiwei Chen and Chun Yin 'Ryan' Choi, and Japan's Takahiro Shikine at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023. /Aijaz Rahi/CFP
Fencing at Paris 2024
China sent 12 fencers to Paris 2024, and Bauer was very impressed with their potential.
"The quality is speed, very high speed, very, very good muscular qualities, this is in our sport very, very important, the physical part is top level," he said.
Beyond Paris, Chinese fencing continues to grow in popularity, with close to 1,300 clubs around the country and a new generation already building towards Los Angeles 2028.
Bauer will be part of that journey as he is set to return to coaching Chinese fencers in the saber discipline.
He explained: "I will go the first week in September to China to do a camp to look for young talents. They want to begin with a new team with new coaches. I go for one week and I will take maybe the three best with me to France - three men and two women, and two coaches. A group from Beijing and we will work together."
It's a sport growing fast in China. In 2023 China's fencing federation organized 81 fencing tournaments with almost 30,000 competitors of all ages participating across the country's 1,290 clubs.
Wang Haibin won two Olympic team silver medals at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 and is now President of the Chinese Fencing Federation. His organization dreams of there being 500,000 Chinese fencers within the next ten to 20 years.
And with Bauer back on board in saber, the nation is looking forward to more iconic Olympic moments like that produced by Zhong Man back at Beijing 2008.
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