Sarra Besbes is a Tunisian épée fencer, seven-time gold medallist at the African Fencing Championships.
Background
Besbes was born in a sports family: her father Ali is a former basketball player, who became a physical education teacher. Her mother Hayet Ben Ghazi is a former foil champion, who became an international referee. Her parents settled in Abu Dhabi before she was born.
Career
She represented Tunisia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, placing eighth. At the 2011 World Championships in Catania, Besbes noticed she would fight an Israeli athlete during the qualifications phase. She asked the Tunisian Fencing Federation for instructions.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports ordered her to drop the bout as part of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign.
Instead of refusing the fight, which would have resulted in sanctions, Besbes remained completely passive during her bout against Noam Mills, allowing the latter to strike without offering any resistance. This 5–0 defeat affected her seeding: in her first direct elimination bout she met eventual gold medallist China"s Li Na of China and was largely overcome.
Besbes commented afterwards: “I did my duty.”
She qualified to the individual event of the 2012 Summer Olympics as the top-ranked female épée fencer for Africa. She defeated China"s Xiaojuan Luo in the round of 32 and of Korea Choi In-jeong in the round of 16, but was defeated in the quarter-finals by eventual silver medallist Britta Heidemann.
During the 2014-2015 season Besbes was selected by the Tunisian Olympic Committee to be part of a special preparation programme for Rio 2016.
She climbed her first World Cup podium with a gold medal in Buenos Aires.