Caroline Golubitsky, wife of fencing legent Sergei Golubitsky, talks with Serge after winning her second World Cup of the season in Cairo, Egypt. Caroline talks about her training schedule with the German fencing team, the impact of video review, and what she’s picked up from her husband.
{audio}https://fencing.net/podcast/egy-caroline-golubitsky.mp3{/audio}
Full Audio Transcript
Interviewer: Okay. We’re speaking with Caroline Golubitsky from the German team who the first morning after, I think, winning her first Grand Prix, yes? Is it the first World Cup, World Cup. So this is after winning your first World Cup, yeah? Second World Cup. The first one you won was in where?
Caroline Golubitsky: In Zolsburg.
Interviewer: And when was that?
Caroline Golubitsky: It was in the beginning of the season. It was, I think, in February.
Interviewer: Okay. So how do you feel today?
Caroline Golubitsky: Today I feel good. It was yesterday a hard, hard work.
Interviewer: Well, what made yesterday difficult?
Caroline Golubitsky: Yesterday, the beginning and to I had to fence again some small Russian but my legs were tired, I was really kind of physical. I wasn’t real stable and then it rained and to I had to and then I had to fence against _______ in the last match and was as I was behind 6/0 and then I started to come back and then it was again 14/10 against me and then 14/14 and then it was kind of ________. It was _______ yesterday.
Interviewer: So what was it that happened to be behind 10/14 and then change that around and come back? What was it that helped you be able to do that? Was it more you or was it more her at that point?
Caroline Golubitsky: I think it was more her because of when it was 14/10 she put, she made mask so 13/10 it was and then she made mask and I just like okay, video for mask because of cover[ing target] and then she came to me and said hey, darling. I was kind of pissed of this, and then I was like, okay, no risk, no fun. So, and then I went through and then I did it.
Interviewer: So, so she became a little bit arrogant about the fact that she was ahead of you and then you used that to your advantage?
Caroline Golubitsky: Yes.
Interviewer: Uh huh. So, it sounds like, and especially perhaps because of your training, you use a lot of psychological techniques in fencing. Would you say that’s true?
Caroline Golubitsky: What?
Interviewer: You use a lot of psychological techniques in, in your fencing, so fencing is a very psychological game for you, yes?
Caroline Golubitsky: Yes, yes.
Interviewer: What is it that makes you successful to do that? How do you create that in yourself?
Caroline Golubitsky: How I create or? Yes. Sergei taught me a lot of things and, but now I can do it like, I’m real sad because it’s like kind of every week tournament and from _______ to, I don’t know, next weekend to Buenos Aires. And, sure physical things are really important and I try to run almost three times a week by myself and yeah because I’m in Army because I have a lot of time. You know and –
Interviewer: Do you find that you do well when you are behind and then you psychologically have to come back or is that a good situation for you?
Caroline Golubitsky: No, it’s not a good situation for me. I like to lead by kind of three/four touches but when I’m behind it’s kind of, you have to go, you have to run, you have to run, and normally ______ arm is back and the legs are too fast and then it’s no end. So it was kind of really lucky yesterday.
Interviewer: So where do you go from now? What are your plans for St. Petersburg and then beyond to Beijing?
Caroline Golubitsky: So first now it’s to Buenos Aires, the first World Cup, uh, next World Cup, and then the Europeans. Oshawa, Havana it’s important because it compete and to Europeans ________ and World Championships three times so I try to make good results. You know, that’s what I want.
Interviewer: And what do you see as your biggest challenge? What’s the most difficult thing coming up for you?
Caroline Golubitsky: There is the qualification, you know. That’s the most, but I shouldn’t think about it. But sometimes you’re counting points but it’s no matter. I shouldn’t count points. It’s like you have to fence, you shouldn’t think about Olympic qualifications. Sometimes it’s difficult in some tournaments, but like yesterday, I didn’t think about it. It was kind of, you know, we’ll try. It’s like nothing can change, kind of, so.
Interviewer: How has the refereeing been for you lately? Obviously we see at the World Cup level and beyond, we see quite a bit of complaining about the refereeing and you see a great deal of difference in refereeing from one event to the other, especially depending upon what country we’re in. How has that been?
Caroline Golubitsky: So the refereeing’s kind of okay. So but in the pool I saw two days ago, I saw it was kind of really a lot of mistakes. So kind of attacks on preparation they didn’t give. So but I fenced yesterday and was good. I got my touches and like the others, because of you are not so many friends referees, or from other countries, so, but for me this was kind of good yesterday.
Interviewer: So I would like to ask you one, sort of, difficult question, which is that there was a lot of controversy here in Egypt because it’s a Muslim country and we had an Israeli who was in the final match and there was obviously a lot of support for you in the audience from the Egyptians and from the Muslim community, where there was not much support for the Israeli. How do you think that played into the whole match, if at all? Did it affect your opponent psychologically? Did it affect you? Did it affect refereeing?
Caroline Golubitsky: I don’t know. I don’t think it has affected on the referees. I think for Israelis it’s not good but it’s kind of rules in history, so if you can’t be nice and nicer is like every, they grow up here like this, I think, and it’s the way, it’s not good to behave like this, because it was before and now it’s different. So it was strange to see today. I heard that she is covered with 40 guards here to African World Cup. It’s kind of dangerous. I don’t know. I couldn’t do it, I think, and I would be some from Israelian and I have to go to ______. Everybody hates me. Oh, I don’t know.
Interviewer: So the next tournaments coming up are Buenos Aires. What is your plan for Buenos Aires?
Caroline Golubitsky: For Buenos Aires I want to make finals for sure and then we will see how it’s _______.
Interviewer: Have you used the video refereeing system yet?
Caroline Golubitsky: Yes. I used it.
Interviewer: And we used it yesterday. And how do you like it?
Caroline Golubitsky: I like it. I like it. It’s really important.
Interviewer: Have you seen any touches that you would not have gotten that were reversed and that you got because of the video refereeing system yet?
Caroline Golubitsky: Yes, yesterday for the, in the half-final __________ when I fenced against Rashidoa, I made one lunge it was kind of clear I was behind the first and last meter, and I trade, made my trade, and I made lunge and she gave attack from rushing ____ like no video and then I got it. Like this is kind of, it’s good. But Israelian, she took two times video because of her two times and it’s, I forgot the word. Um, two times it took video, I forgot the word, and it didn’t help. So she had no video anymore. So I don’t know, you have to use it really, really smart, the video.
Interviewer: How about the wireless systems, have you used them yet?
Caroline Golubitsky: Yes, I use them kind of sometimes. I like it. I don’t feel it’s too heavy. I don’t feel it’s like beep-beep because Hungarians like not big or the others they said like yeah, it makes that sound but I don’t feel it. So I don’t maybe they not use as much more often than I do the heavier like Anja said for neck. I think it could be a problem. I also don’t know now for St. Petersburg, with mask, if we need a mask with clock. I hope not because in Taiwan so use it and it was through, it went through here next to the eye. So I hope ______ will say no for this, you know.
Interviewer: Okay, so one obvious question, you’re married to Sergei Golubitsky and obviously he is and was a great fencer. How much influence does his fencing have on your fencing.
Caroline Golubitsky: A lot. When I see his videos, it’s kind of, I don’t know, magic or something. Yeah, but I never could be like him. It’s like impossible to fence like he fence. Also when I see the form now, there was a fence kind of like _________ I like the style but it’s not like it was before. It seems like also Smirnoff or I don’t know, Romankov, when I saw videos and Sergei showed me it’s like kind of really, really different, different fencing.
Interviewer: Well maybe some of Sergei’s magic will help you in the coming year.
Caroline Golubitsky: Yes. I hope so. So I need him on tournaments because he’s also good analyzer and he knows really in exactly moments what to do.
Interviewer: Good. Well thank you.
Caroline Golubitsky: Thank you.
[End of Audio]