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Juliana Gomez on Fencing

<div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1750163420370433422370_420755513700874_901101538191460529_n.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo from @gomezjuliana</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p><strong>Juliana Gomez</strong> is forging her own path as a national athlete. The daughter of actor and Leyte Representative <strong>Richard Gomez</strong> and Ormoc City mayor<strong> Lucy Torres-Gomez</strong> has recently been included in the <strong>Women’s Epee National Team </strong>for the upcoming <strong>SEA Games</strong> in Thailand this December, showing that she’s skilled enough to build an impressive legacy of her own.</p><p>The young fencer shared her feelings about this recent achievement with <strong>Metro.Styl</strong><strong>e</strong>. <strong></strong>“I feel an enormous sense of pride in being able to represent the Philippines in the upcoming SEA Games. I’ve always known about this competition because my dad was a national team member for the Philippine fencing team for many years. Like any other national athlete, I want nothing more than to showcase the best that Philippine fencing has to offer,” she thoughtfully said.</p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1750166653543juliana fencing sea games 1.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1750166665963juliana fencing sea games 2.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div><p>Juliana’s journey to the national team was not served on a silver platter. On the contrary, it has been a long wait and a challenging one. To fight for her ultimate dream of representing the Philippines, she repeatedly attempted to join the team through the Philippine Fencing Association rankings, which included the SEA Games selection periods in 2021 and 2024. </p><p>“My journey to make it to the national team started in 2020. I fell short of a spot in the past four qualifying seasons. That being said, I’ve been trying to make the team for a few years now, so my training since 2020 has never really stopped. Being part of the national team was always the goal for me, as a spot on the team allows you to compete in fencing’s biggest competitions,” Juliana shared.</p><p>Her perseverance finally paid off, and now she’s aiming for nothing less than the best that could bring Filipino pride to <em>kababayans</em> across the globe. </p><p>“Contributing to the medal count would be good,” she noted, “but what I truly want is to win gold for the country.”</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKvnhohzrAO/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=864&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A7373683.5%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="945" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>Richard, a fencer who once competed for the national fencing team himself (winning Gold in Men&#x27;s Team Epee at the 2005 SEA Games) is influential in Juliana’s passionate interest in the sport. In fact, she watched her dad recently compete in Ormoc under the category the Veteran Men&#x27;s Epee category.</p><p>“It was really fun seeing him back on the piste, and I could tell he was just enjoying it. Him bagging the gold was just a bonus! He always tells me to relax and let things flow during a competition—seeing him do just that was a nice reminder for me to do the same in my next big competition,” she relayed, clearly equally excited for her father.</p><p>Interestingly, Juliana did not initially set her sights on fencing even though she was exposed to it growing up.</p><p>“I started with foil back in 2011, but only fenced for a year. I found my way back to the sport in 2020, and it was only then that I decided to go with epee. I played quite a few sports growing up. More specifically baseball, volleyball, and football,” she began.</p><p>“I think it was during senior high that I decided to take volleyball seriously and hopefully pursue it in college. When that career path fell through, I made sure to set proper goals when I entered fencing by treating it like a fresh start. I laid out my step-by-step growth plan with my fencing coach, from targeting the U.P. Fencing Team, the varsity team, to representing the country one day,” Juliana added.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-2" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctn2WHrv0p3/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=864&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A7494924%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="856" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-2" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>Now that she has qualified for the national team and with the upcoming SEA Games on the horizon, her training will switch up and will be more intense in the coming months.</p><p>“My training will definitely change in terms of frequency and intensity, but I am still working with the same team of coaches that got me to where I am today. I also plan on getting more international exposure this year,” she remarked.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-4" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/CujueIbP2kJ/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=864&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A4%2C%22os%22%3A7581449.400000002%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="631" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-4" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>The newly minted national athlete’s ambitions don’t stop at the SEA Games, and she confessed that she would very much want to be an Olympian.</p><p>“Of course! That will always be my goal. I intend to one day make it to the Olympics together with my teammates,” she declared.</p><p>To fulfill that dream, her daily routine reflects her desire to achieve that goal.</p><p>“My days start as early as 7 a.m. I fence at least twice a day and make sure to get either a lift or some cardio in. In between, I make sure to recover by taking naps, eating well, and relaxing with friends and family, or just spending time with myself. I’m thankful that I’ve found a nice balance,” the young athlete shared.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-6" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DBfy_BiT0ML/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=864&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A6%2C%22os%22%3A7618412.900000002%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="857" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-6" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>Juliana humbly credits her coaches for her growth as an athlete.</p><p>“I am deeply inspired by my personal fencing coach and strength and conditioning coaches—Coach Benny [Garcia] and Coach Rex. They’ve played a key role in my growth as a fencer, putting in countless hours to help me improve and sharing their expertise with consistency and patience,” Juliana said. </p><p>“They’ve made personal sacrifices, including time away from their own families, to be present during my training camps and competitions. The way they show up for me motivates me to bring that same level of commitment every time I compete,” the fencer concluded.</p><p>Gomez is competing at the Championnats d’Europe in Genova, Italy (one scheduled last June 16 and another game on June 19) before the SEA Games this year.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-8" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/CtjTygHPRsC/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=864&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A8%2C%22os%22%3A7705714.800000001%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="687" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-8" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>Lead photo from <strong>@gomezjuliana</strong></p>

<p><i>Juliana Gomez is now officially a part of the Women’s Epee National Team, and she's </i>gearing up for the SEA (Southeast Asian) Games this December.</p>

Juliana Gomez is now officially a part of the Women’s Epee National Team, and she's gearing up for the SEA (Southeast Asian) Games this December.

Juliana Gomez Steps Into the Spotlight as a National Fencer

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Juliana Gomez Steps Into the Spotlight as a National Fencer

Grace Diez

Published Jun 17, 2025 09:20 PM PHT

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Updated Jun 17, 2025 09:24 PM PHT

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