Dorina Mihai

Dorina Mihai (born 1 June 1981) is a Romanian sabre fencer, world champion in 2003.

Biography

Mihai took up fencing in primary school on the advice of a teacher, who directed her to foil. Disappointed not to earn any title in eleven years of practice, she thought of giving up, but eventually decided to try sabre, a weapon in which she quickly obtained results. By circumstance Mihai had found herself at the championships without her fencing mask and had been forced to use a Lexan visor mask, promoted by the International Fencing Federation because it shows the fencer's face. By winning the competition, Mihai also received a prize of $10.000 offered by the federation to the best-ranked athlete wearing a Lexan mask.

Mihai decided to forgo the 2004 Summer Olympics to marry fellow fencer Cristian Lupu, a reserve in the men's national team, and to give birth to a son, Luca Nicolas. She worked three years in the field before joining the Ilfov County Police Inspectorate.