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| BESBES Azza |
| NOC |
Tunisia
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| Gender | Women |
| Born |
28 Nov 1990
in Abu Dhabi, UAE
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General Interest |
| Injuries |
In October 2017 she underwent wrist surgery. (webdo.tn, 05 Mar 2018)
Injury caused her to withdraw from the quarterfinals of the 2012 Korfanty Cup in Chicago, IL, United States of America. (boxscorenews.com, 24 Jun 2012)
She has been troubled by tendinitis in her right shoulder during her career. (tunisia-today.com, 01 Dec 2009) |
| Famous relatives |
Her sisters Hela, Rim, and Sarra, and her brother Ahmed Aziz have all represented Tunisia in fencing. Sarra competed at the Olympic Games in 2012 and 2016. Her mother Hayet has served as president of the Women's Sports Association of Tunis [ASFT] and also worked as an international fencing referee. (SportsDeskOnline, 22 Jun 2018; jeuneafrique.com, 30 Jul 2012; koora.com, 13 Feb 2011) |
Sport Specific Information |
| Why this sport? |
She was born into a sporting family. Her mother was a pioneering fencer in Tunisia and influenced her decision to take up the sport. Her father was a basketball player and also a member of the Tunisian Fencing Federation [FTE]. "In the beginning every time someone gave me a foil to train with, I would find myself putting it to one side and picking up a sabre instead. I found this was much more attractive and spectacular." |
| When and where did you begin this sport? |
She began fencing at age six. She joined the Tunis Air Club in Tunisia at age 10. |
Further Personal Information |
| Occupation |
Athlete, Consultant |
| Languages |
Arabic, English, French |
General Interest |
| Sporting philosophy / motto |
"Sport is about surpassing yourself. Sport is a school of life. Sport doesn't build character, it reveals it. Sport looks for fear to dominate, tiredness to triumph over, and difficulty to overcome." (fie.org, 06 Jun 2012) |
| Other information |
FROM TUNISIA TO FRANCE
She moved from Tunisia to France in 2007 due to the lack of federal financial and training support. She had begun fencing with the Tunis Air Club in 2000 and remained there until 2005, when the club closed its fencing section due to financial constraints. She did not belong to a club for the next two years, but in 2007 she moved to France to join Fencing Circle Orleans, followed by US Metro de Paris in 2008. (usmetro-escrime.com, 20 Apr 2015; tunisia-today.com, 01 Dec 2009)
WOMEN IN SPORT
She received the 2018 Francophone Woman of the Year Award at the 38th Congress of the International Association of Francophone Mayors [AIMF], in part for her work in developing women's sport in Tunisia. "I do a lot of work with young Tunisian athletes, and help them adjust to life in France if they come here to train. In Tunisia I do a lot of work to encourage young girls into sport, because even in 2018 this remains a taboo subject in some places of Tunisia. But it's been more than 20 years since I started fencing, and the sport has come a long way in Tunisia. It has become less taboo for women to do. Tunisian people are becoming aware that sport is a necessary part of a healthy lifestyle. In the long term, I would like to start a project to build sporting infrastructure in rural zones of Tunisia." (womensports.fr, 22 Feb 2019)
OCCUPATION
In 2016 she began studying for a master's degree in business performance management at ESCP Europe. Since then she has worked as an engineer and then as a senior audit consultant with a financial services company in Paris, France. "I am an athlete who also has a professional career. I must thank my parents for insisting that I continue my studies alongside fencing, because I don't earn anything from my sport. I must therefore prepare for my professional reconversion. The career of an athlete is short." (LinkedIn profile, 01 Oct 2020; tuniscope.com, 14 Sep 2018) |
| Nicknames |
Zazza (jeuneafrique.com, 30 Jul 2012) |
Sport Specific Information |
| Handedness |
Right |
General Interest |
| Hobbies |
Watching Formula One. (Instagram profile, 24 Oct 2020) |
| Memorable sporting achievement |
Winning silver in individual sabre at the 2017 World Championships in Leipzig, Germany. (gulfnews.com, 21 May 2018) |
| Ambitions |
To win a medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (leconomistemaghrebin.com, 06 May 2019) |
Further Personal Information |
| Higher education |
Business Information Systems, Engineering - Engineering School [ECE] Paris: Paris, FRA |
General Interest |
| Awards and honours |
She received the 2018 Francophone Woman of the Year Award at the 38th Congress of the International Association of Francophone Mayors [AIMF]. (womensports.fr, 22 Feb 2019) |
Further Personal Information |
| Residence |
Paris, FRA |
| Family |
Husband Ghazi Trabelsi |
| Olympic Games |
| 2016 |
Quarterfinal |
Individual Sabre |
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| 2008 |
7 |
Individual Sabre |
Beijing, China |
| World Championships |
| 2017 |
2 |
Individual Sabre |
Leipzig, Germany |
| 2015 |
7 |
Individual Sabre |
Moscow, Russia |
| 2010 |
7 |
Individual Sabre |
Paris, France |
| African Championships |
| 2019 |
1 |
Team Sabre |
Bamako, Mali |
| 2019 |
5 |
Individual Sabre |
Bamako, Mali |
| 2018 |
1 |
Individual Sabre |
Tunis, Tunisia |
| 2018 |
1 |
Team Sabre |
Tunis, Tunisia |
| 2017 |
1 |
Individual Sabre |
Alexandria, Egypt |
| 2017 |
2 |
Team Sabre |
Alexandria, Egypt |
| 2016 |
1 |
Individual Sabre |
Algiers, Algeria |
| 2015 |
1 |
Individual Sabre |
Cairo, Egypt |
| 2015 |
1 |
Team Sabre |
Cairo, Egypt |
| 2014 |
1 |
Individual Sabre |
Cairo, Egypt |
| 2011 |
1 |
Individual Sabre |
Cairo, Egypt |
| 2010 |
1 |
Team Sabre |
Tunis, Tunisia |
| 2010 |
2 |
Individual Sabre |
Tunis, Tunisia |
| 2009 |
1 |
Individual Sabre |
Dakar, Senegal |
| 2009 |
1 |
Team Sabre |
Dakar, Senegal |
| 2008 |
1 |
Individual Sabre |
Casablanca, Morocco |
| 2008 |
1 |
Team Sabre |
Casablanca, Morocco |
| 2006 |
1 |
Individual Sabre |
Casablanca, Morocco |
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