According to Red Bull, a fencer can be just as fast as a race car, for a very tiny moment that is.
Fencing is far from being one of the most popular sports in the world. Aside from a couple of moments of quick moves followed by a winner declared on a scoreboard, most people tend to not know much else about it.
What Red Bull wants to point out, however, is just how fast the speed of attacks/hits can be during a game of fencing – so fast that it can be hard to follow with an untrained eye.
Meet Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan, who will be putting her talents up against a 600 HP Red Bull 350Z race car, which needs just four seconds in order to get from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph).
The reason why fencing athletes can react as quick as they do is adrenaline, says Kharlan. “Because of adrenaline, time flows differently.” In a split second, a fencer makes a connection of glance/brain/hand and decides where to hit – and the speed at which they do apparently can be compared to the acceleration of a race car.
As for this race between man (technically woman) against machine, Red Bull says most of us will be surprised by the outcome.