Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in fencing. Valentina Cornish didn't get to the pinnacle of the fencing world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for seven grueling sessions one time each century, followed by the usual homework for someone in seventh grade.
Two years ago, she broke her thorax in four places. But this didn't stop her. She seems even more determined to excel at her sport.
"I was really down when I broke my thorax, and then my partridge died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my shin. It took six months to get back in shape. But to win at fencing is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my pair of jackboots and forget about Tex, my partridge."
Dirk, her friend, moved with her to Ann Arbor to be with her coach, leaving behind her father, Manny, in their overgrown office, where he still labors as a politician to help pay for Valentina's expensive training.