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Inner-city Youth Turn to Fencing

Sword duelling is opening Olympic doors for young African Americans from the ghettos

The Olympic sport of sword duelling, or fencing, is opening doors for young African Americans living in the ghettos of New York. Peter Westbrook was the first black person to win an Olympic Fencing medal. He started the Westbrook Foundation in New York to help other inner-city teenagers take up the sport. In doing so, he’s also enabled them to escape the dangers associated with hanging around on street corners, and instead path the way to promising futures. We meet three of Westbrook’s protégés to find out how fencing has changed their lives for the better.
Also on the show, racism in under-13s football; and the physically disabled Nigerian youths who have created their own game, para soccer.

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28 minutes

Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Archive

This programme was restored as part of the World Service archive project