Alex O'Connell is trying to compete at his second Olympics.

Essex fencer Alex O'Connell wants to qualify for the Olympic Games by rights, rather than using a wild card to compete at London 2012.

O'Connell, who took part in Beijing in 2008, will start his quest to qualify for the games next month.

He told BBC Essex: "We get a number of home places. I'd take any way of being in London, but I'd like to qualify.

"If I don't qualify it means I'm not in the top 25 in the world, so my chances of getting a medal are a lot less."

O'Connell, from Brentwood, is the current British number one in the sabre class and believes he is in with a good chance of qualifying outright.

"I'm confident," he added. "My training is going well and I think I'm improving all the time."

"The difference between number one and number 100 is not a huge amount.

"Its just a case of who's consistent on the day and who can piece together a number of wins in a row, and I honestly think I'm capable of doing that."

Fencing at the London 2012 games will take place at ExCeL.

The 2011 European Championships take place in Sheffield in July.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version