STONE Anne-Elizabeth

General
CHANGE OF COACH
She considered quitting the sport after missing out on qualification for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, but was convinced to continue by Oleg Stetsiv, who became her new coach following the retirement of Hristo Hristov. "Heartbroken and ashamed, I watched from home as my hardworking teammates became Olympic bronze medalists [in 2016]. I felt I had let myself down and disappointed my coach, my family, and everyone else who supported me along the way. It seemed like the world was telling me to give up. Soon after Hristo Hristov's retirement, I started talking with Oleg Stetsiv, the head coach at Bergen Fencing Club. Oleg had helped me at World Cup competitions when he was attending with his own students. We met and had a very tough discussion. Although he knew I was struggling, he made it clear that I still had something to give to fencing. And if I could find the passion again, he would revamp my training and help me restart my fencing career. I considered all that he said and knew I was not ready to put away my sabre. It wasn't an easy climb back to the top, but Oleg helped me regain my confidence." (SportsDeskOnline, 03 May 2021; bergenfencingclub.com, 01 Feb 2020)

TRAINING FROM HOME
In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she was training using a makeshift dummy in a New Jersey apartment in the United States of America where she lived alone, while receiving support from talks with sports psychologist Karen Cogan. "I beat up my cardboard-box opponent. There are so many mental challenges of getting through this and I like knowing that I can talk things through and maybe work on a strategy to stay productive and positive. We were essentially asked to stop halfway though the height of our season and then come back perfect without missing a beat whenever the world opens up again. It's almost an impossible task, so a lot of us are a bit wary about that. It's important to stay positive so it doesn't wear you down." (teamusa.org, 04 May 2020)

OCCUPATION
She has worked as a laboratory chemist since October 2013 in Princeton, NJ, United States of America. She has also served as an assistant coach of the Princeton University fencing team. (LinkedIn profile, 24 Mar 2020)

FURTHER STUDIES
She plans to attend medical school after the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (LinkedIn profile, 24 Mar 2020)

During her collegiate career from 2009 to 2013, she became the first female representing Princeton University in sabre to receive First Team All-American honours for four different years. (goprincetontigers.com, 01 Jan 2014)