Fred Dagg would never have gone to the gym. That's probably why he's not a world champion like Nick Liefting. Candice Reed reports
Nick Liefting didn't know it at the time, but his daily workout at the gym would help win him a world title.
At 53, Liefting is the new world fencing champion. We're talking farm fencing here, not Olympic swordfighting fencing.
To win the title Liefting had to build 100m of electric fence, with a gate, from scratch against the world's best in Germany. It took him just over two hours and he was first finished. But it was the quality of the fence that won him the trophy.
"Time only accounts for a quarter of the overall score. The rest is judged on quality," he says. "I never expected to win. I suppose you just hope someone else is going to make more mistakes than you."
Liefting, from the Bombay Hills (which he calls South Auckland) has built fences since he can remember. He's managing director of Nick Liefting Contractors and has competed at the NZ champs for more than 30 years.
The winner from the national competition qualifies for the world champs, held every two years in Germany. This year, Liefting received a personal invitation from the championship sponsors to enter.
"The sponsors, Patura, had seen me compete at the New Zealand nationals in Mystery Creek in June," he says. "I came fifth there, but they asked me to go to the worlds." Liefting's biggest threat came from a fellow Kiwi, Paul van Beers from Central Hawkes Bay, our national title-holder and a former world champion.
"He's quite good," Liefting says. "I'm not an anybody in the fencing world, so there was a bit of pressure there. It was the world championships you obviously don't want to bomb out.
"It was a nice surprise when I defeated the New Zealand champion."
Despite being the dominant country in fencing, New Zealand hasn't produced a champion since van Beers won in 2002.
Liefting, the oldest competitor in the German event, is our third world champion.
"Some say we're handicapped going to Europe to compete, because the fences are different to what we build here. But if you are a seasoned competitor, you can build any fence they throw at you," he says.
Liefting says the only training he did before going to Germany was gym work.
"I'm in the gym every day of the year. It gives me a big plus on the fitness side of things because I know I can outlast the others."
The reality of what Liefting had achieved didn't set in until he was standing on the podium during the medal ceremony, watching his country's flag being hoisted while the national anthem was playing.
It's a feeling Liefting wants again. He intends to return to Germany in 2010 to defend his title.
He knows how lucky he is
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