- April 19, 2024
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As an Ocoee High Knight, sophomore Maia Slowinski displays her strength — both physically and mentally — as a member of the weightlifting team. The 15-year-old competes in the 154-pound weight class and participates in the two big events (bench, clean and jerk) for the Knights. And in her second year, she has notched personal bests of 125 pounds in the bench and 120 pounds in the clean and jerk.
But her work in the weight room also serves another purpose — to sharpen her skills in her true passion: fencing.
Although she had never done much lifting before, Slowinski was surprised at how much she enjoyed hitting the weight room with her new friends to train.
“It’s very mental — fencing is also a very mental sport, but it also kind of helps with weightlifting too for getting your head in the game and getting ready,” Slowinski said.
Slowinski’s routine remains the same, no matter where she goes.
She gets there an hour early to warm up and go over the motions — playing out scenarios in her head.
But unlike the previous stages she had taken, this one was a bit bigger and the lights were a bit brighter. This was the U.S. Fencing North American Cup in St. Louis.
“It’s very intimidating seeing all these other girls — there’s a lot of people — especially at this last tournament,” Slowinski said. “Some are on the national team. One of the events I did, there were Olympians in it, and I was fan-girling so hard — she was on the next strip over from me. It’s a really cool experience.”
The nerves were there, but they never showed as Slowinski cruised in pool play before going 4-1 in the bracket to finish up third and bring home a bronze medal.
And just like they do in the Olympics, Slowinski got the chance to take her spot on the winner’s podium on the national stage for the second time — she previously had taken home third in a tournament a few years ago.
“Only recently have I ever started doing that (well),” Slowinski said. “(That’s) the best I have ever done in a tournament that big. It was really surreal, because I thought the first time I got lucky and then this time it started to feel more real.”
Although she said she is just now getting to that place in her sport where she is picking up big wins, Slowinski’s years of practice are what have really been the big difference.
Originally, she started her time in sports playing soccer like most kids at the private school she attended, but when she moved to public school, she had to make a change, because the school didn’t have a soccer team.
The then-8-year-old Slowinski and her parents stumbled across a promotional booth for the Winter Garden Fencing Academy. One lesson later, she was hooked.
“At first, when I was little, it was because I got to stab people without getting into trouble,” Slowinski said. “That was the first reason, but then I started to get more into it, and I started competing and learning more about it. I loved the strategy and loved going up against people who are considered unbeatable, because maybe I’ll do better — it’s all based on strategy.”
As the years passed, the ever-competitive Slowinski competed in local tournaments and other events as she honed her craft.
When she first got to Ocoee High, Slowinski decided she wanted to do something to help her get into better shape, which in turn would help her out in fencing. That’s when she picked up weightlifting. And although she is making progress as a weightlifter, she largely sees it as a sport to do on the side, as fencing remains her focus.
And Slowinski will need to keep up the good pace for herself, as she was recently named to the USA Juniors Fencing Team that will compete in the 15th European Maccabi Games — a tournament held specifically for Jewish athletes — in Budapest, Hungary, this summer.
“I’ve never been out of the country, but I’ve been wanting to fence out of the country for a while,” Slowinski said. “This is really exciting that I get to go out of the country and compete against all of these people. It’s going to be really awesome.”
