Nathalie Moellhausen is possibly one of the greatest Brazilian fencers of all time. And look, she wasn’t even born in Brazil.
Italian daughter of a German and a Brazilian, Nathalie started to compete with the green and yellow flag on her helmet only at the end of her career. Which did not stop her from achieving the two best results in the history of the sport in the country.
In the following text, we explain the entire international plot of Nathalie Moellhausen, list her titles, and tell her story, in short, we bring you everything you need to know about the Italian-Brazilian fencer.
Who is Nathalie Moellhausen?
Nathalie Moellhausen is an Italian-Brazilian fencer. Born on December 1, 1985, she competes for the Brazilian Fencing Confederation (CBE) since 2015. Before, she played for Italy.
In a short time as an athlete from Brazil, Nathalie stood out by conquering two of the best results in the history of sports in the country: the world title, in 2015, in Hungary, and the quarterfinals at the 2016 Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro .
The Italian-Brazilian competes in the sword category, one of the most difficult in fencing, either because of the dimensions of the weapon or because of the numerous scoring possibilities. Which, of course, she takes literally.
Where was Nathalie Moellhausen born?
Nathalie Moellsausen was born in Milan, Italy. Daughter of German Philippe Moelhausen and Italian-Brazilian Valeria Ferlini, she obtained Brazilian citizenship in 2013, at the age of 28.
Biography of Nathalie Moellhausen
Nathalie Moellahausen was born in Italy but has always had one foot in Brazil. Until the age of 12, she traveled to São Paulo at least once a year with her mother, the stylist from São Paulo (naturalized Italian) Valeria Ferlini.
In addition to visiting cousins and aunts in São Paulo, Nathalie spent a good part of her childhood in fencing classes. The tradition of sport in Italy is such that it is taught in schools from an early age.
The Italian-Brazilian’s first contact with fencing was at the age of five. The girl’s ease with weapons was clear. So much so that, at the age of 15, Nathalie Moellhausen joined the highly disputed Italian national team.
At 20, he moved to Paris to train with the highly regarded master Daniel Levavasseur. At 22 she was already a European champion; at 24, world champion (both times by team). From then on, there were six more medals won in six years of World and European Championships.
Fencing has always been a big and successful part of Nathalie’s life, but not the only one. The artistic vein of the daughter of a respected stylist has always been present. So much so that since mid-2010, the fencer started to divide her time between the sport and directing and artistic promotion work.
For a while, the latter began to gain more strength than the former, and at the end of the London Olympics, in 2012, Nathalie Moellhausen took a brief break from her career to dedicate herself to her new profession. She was even responsible for the 100th-anniversary event of the International Fencing Federation.
In life outside of fencing, Nathalie went on to model and even studied philosophy at the University of Sorbonne. But in 2014 came an invitation that it was impossible to refuse: to be part of Brazilian fencing.
History of Nathalie Moellhausen in Brazilian fencing
The “flirt” of the Brazilian Fencing Confederation (CBE) with Nathalie Moellhausen was old. The invitation made at the end of 2014 was almost a bureaucracy, as the conversations were quite advanced.
Also because, in addition to the strong connection with Brazil, the fencer had lost space on the European scene after her post-London 2012 break. Apart from that she was still in top shape, having not missed a single training session during her, let’s say, sabbatical period.
How did Nathalie Moellhausen get started in fencing in Brazil?
Nathalie Moellhausen started in fencing in Brazil as an athlete for Clube Pinheiros, the main reference of the sport in the country. But she still lived in Paris, traveling to competitions and stepping into Brazilian lands every two months or so.
Nathalie and CBE’s main focus was international competitions. It helped that the athlete already had the necessary score for the 2016 Olympics, without having to take the vacancies for the host country.
But the fencer made her debut a year before the Rio Games. And in style, winning the Pan American Championship in April and then taking bronze at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
The performance in the pre-Olympic year was an example of what Nathalie Moellhausen could do for Brazilian fencing. She didn’t get a medal at the Rio Games, but she did something great: she reached the quarterfinals, the best result by a Brazilian fencer.
The post-Olympic that was not very pleasant. In 2017, he finished the Worlds in the eighteenth position; in 2018, he lost his father and took a few more sabbatical months, dedicated again to the artistic direction of the International Fencing Federation.
The phase, the mourning, the break, it all ended up doing more good than bad for Nathalie. So much so that the fencer returned to the slopes in 2019 with everything. First picking up the bronze again at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.
Nathalie Moellhausen, the World Fencing Champion
Due to the low classification in the 2017 edition (18th) and mainly the stopped year in 2018, Nathalie Moellhausen started the Worlds as an underdog, starting from the first qualifying stage.
The Italian-Brazilian advanced without much fanfare, winning her five matches before entering the finals, with the 64 best in the world.
In it, despite the greater balance of the matches, the fencer also advanced without great dangers to the quarterfinals. She had to beat China’s Zhu Mingye and Italy’s Alberta Santuccio to get there. And she started making history.
By winning, with a golden point, an exciting duel with Luxembourg’s Lis Rottler-Fautsch, Nathalie Moellhausen became the first fencer in the country to guarantee at least one podium at the World Cup.
In the semis, there was no emotion. Nathalie dominated Hong Kong’s Kong Vivian from top to bottom, ending the match with an authority of 15 to 11. The final against Lin Sheng was not easy.
At the end of the nine minutes of the match, the tie at 12 to 12 took the decision to extra time. With about 40 seconds left on the clock, our fencer got the touch. And collapsed.
The world title brought national recognition to Nathalie Moellahausen and the entire sport. But it didn’t excite her that much: the athlete plans to retire at the end of the Tokyo Olympics. Hopefully with a nice gold medal.
Medals and titles of Nathalie Moellhausen
- Fencing World Championship – Individual (2019)
- World Fencing – Teams/Italy (2009)
- European Fencing Championship – Teams/Italy (2007)
- Pan-American Fencing – Individual (2015)
- European Fencing Championship – Teams/Italy – Silver (2009)
- Pan American Games – Individual – Bronze (2015, 2019)
- Pan American Games – Teams – Bronze (2015)
- World Fencing – Individual/Italy – Bronze (2010)
- World Fencing – Teams/Italy – Bronze (2011)
- European Fencing Championships – Teams/Italy – Bronze (2011)
Facts about Nathalie Moellhausen
- In 2010, Nathalie Moellahausen made a double journey at the Fencing World Cup. She was the contestant and art director for the opening. The ceremony was a success and Nathalie took the bronze.
- This kind of division of tasks is one of Nathalie’s outstanding characteristics. Continuing as an athlete, she organized a calendar with fencers from around the world, to raise funds for greater investment in the sport.
- In addition to being a fencer and art director, Nathalie Moellhausen is a model, having walked on catwalks and even photographed in editorials for major magazines.
- Oh! He is also a philosopher attended by the reputable University of the Sorbonne.
- Nathalie Moellhausen has a tattoo on her left wrist in honor of her father, who passed away in 2018. She kisses art at the end of every fencing match.