World Fencing Champion, Ben Bratton, Uses Public Speaking to Channel Athletic Excellence
New York, August 4, 2015 (Newswire.com) - “Standing up and speaking to a large group of people used to just petrify me,” recounts Ben Bratton a world class fencer who, surprisingly, is no stranger to anxiety provoking situations.
In 2012, Bratton, stood at the top of the fencing world when he won the 2012 World Fencing Team Championships in Kiev, Ukraine the first World Championship title in a men’s fencing event in the history of the United States. Most would have seen Bratton as a shoo-in to take his winning ways to the 2012 Olympics that year, but because of a technicality was unable to join his team for the games.
"If I hadn't taken the opportunity to speak, I don't know if I would still be competing," says Bratton. "Every time that I get on that stage I'm not only reminded of where I've come but also that that story isn't over and that there is so much more to come."
Ben Bratton, World Fencing Champion, Olympic Hopeful
“I was super low after 2012 and spent a lot of time trying to figure out what to do with myself – should I continue my training or just move on,” Bratton asked himself. “I decided to do some soul searching and take some time off from training to really figure out where I was headed.”
It was during his break that Bratton was approached to speak to 200 student and faculty members at a charter school in the Bronx as part of an Olympic themed event. Although, he had some experience as a speaker Bratton decided make the appearance, albeit with some serious reservations.
“I was unbelievably nervous and had never spoken to a group this large, my heart was pounding,” says Bratton. “But I realized that all of these nerves were feelings that I had experienced before in competition. It felt great to focus on the process of preparing, executing and ultimately succeeding.”
Today, Ben has adopted that same focus to climb his way back to the top of the fencing world and to hopefully not only qualify this time, but stand atop the podium at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janiero. One year from the official qualification, the outlook looks good. He is currently the number one men’s epee fencer in the country and just finished with a Silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. Still, the Olympic hopeful still finds time for the occasional speaking engagement, be it for local schools or community and corporate events, he often correlates his speaking success with his athletic accomplishments.
“If I hadn’t taken that opportunity to speak, I don’t know if I would still be competing today,” says Bratton. “Every time that I get on that stage I’m not only reminded of where I’ve come but also that that story isn’t over and that there is so much more to come.”
Contact:
Deborah Hanson
fencing101programs@gmail.com