In those painful times in Rio, Mariel Zagunis wasn’t sure if she wanted to keep going for a fifth Olympics in 2020.
The horizon is clearer now.
“I definitely see Tokyo in my future,” Zagunis said, according to the Portland Tribune. “I’m not fulfilled. That’s part of who I am. I always want to keep going. I always want to do more. It’s a blessing and a curse to feel dissatisfied with not winning all the time.”
Zagunis, 31, earned her fourth Olympic medal in Rio, a team bronze, becoming the first U.S. fencer to make the podium at three Olympics.
But individually, Zagunis was upset for a second straight Olympics. After winning gold in 2004 and 2008, Zagunis lost the bronze-medal match in London and bowed out in the round of 16 in Rio. Zagunis was ranked No. 2 in the world when she qualified for the Olympic team last winter.
“I’m still beating myself up over my performance,” Zagunis said, according to the newspaper.
Come Tokyo, Zagunis will be 35, which is older than any U.S. Olympic fencer since the 1996 Atlanta Games.
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