JOLO VICEO was not always found on the piste. Like many young athletes, he tried his hand at other athletic activities during his formative years before committing to a single sport. Viceo first played football, but eventually stopped because of his short stature. 

At ten years old, he switched to fencing as an extracurricular activity. Initially, he decided to stick with the sport because he wanted the loyalty award during graduation rites. But soon enough, his love for fencing grew beyond the promise of accolades. 

Viceo quickly emerged as one of the standout fencers in his age group. The exceptional flexibility and balance that came with his height—which was a weakness for him in football—became one of his best assets in the world of fencing. He eventually aspired to handle the blade not only for Ateneo, where he spent his grade school and high school years, but also for the country.

Turning point

Before his national team aspirations came struggles. Viceo had always aspired to become a specialist in the foil category, one of the three disciplines in fencing along with saber and épée. However, his development stagnated and it began reflecting on his performance, which concerned his coaches. To compensate for these difficulties, he was offered the option to transfer to saber—a much less competitive category. Viceo came close to starting from scratch, but he believed in his abilities and ultimately decided to stay in foil.

His decision paid dividends. The Asian Junior and Cadet Fencing Tournament in 2017 proved to be the turning point for Viceo as he defeated the University of the East’s (UE) Sammuel Tranquilan—one of the best fencers in the country. The victory put a spotlight on his true potential in the foil category. 

Even with his success in the tournament, Viceo still felt that there was room to grow. He sat down with his parents to discuss how he needed to refine his fencing skills. After researching fencing clubs in the United States, where the best fencers hone their talents, he stumbled upon one in San Francisco where his idol Geoffrey Tourette of the United States National Team attended. Viceo trained there vigorously for two whole months in 2017. 

“There are a lot of styles of fencing in the [United States],” Viceo says. “[The experience] taught me how to adjust quickly and decisively.”

First gold

Viceo’s experience with training overseas proved vital. By 2019, Viceo, then a college sophomore in Ateneo, attained a pair of notable achievements. He was called to represent the country in the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and was named team captain of the Ateneo Men’s Fencing Team for Season 82 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). 

In the SEA Games, Viceo was a key member of the Men’s Team Foil squad, a group that took home a bronze medal. But right after his SEA Games bout, Viceo experienced an unbearable pain in his left foot caused by a wart. He decided to have the wart removed because of the possibility that it would get infected. 

Viceo continued to heal from this injury and trained two to three times a day. Unfortunately, he suffered another setback: Six days before the UAAP Season 82 Men’s Fencing Tournament, he hit his toenail while running up the stairs. “I was very nervous [for] my operation because there was the possibility of me not playing [in UAAP Season 82],” he says. 

Despite his injury and lack of conditioning, the team captain emerged victorious in the Men’s Individual Foil category, capturing the first gold medal of his collegiate career. His individual victory ended up being Ateneo’s sole gold that season, helping the team achieve a second-place finish.

The fact that his gold came against UE’s Tranquilan, his longtime competitor who used to dominate over Viceo in high school, made the victory sweeter. But what made the win truly special was how it underscored his growth—both inside and outside the piste.  

“I have come far from where I was before. When I was young, I wasn’t the best player. I was the fat kid back then, but fencing taught me hard work and showed me the culture of competitiveness,” Viceo shares. 

The former fencing underdog has crossed a lot off his long list of goals. Nevertheless, he remains hungry and is looking to continue his streak of growth. Moving forward, Viceo has set his sights on three main goals: Win a UAAP championship for Ateneo, notch a gold in the next SEA Games, and reach the number one spot in the national fencing rankings. Given how much Viceo has grown over the years—from a struggling athlete to one of the best fencers in the country—these goals are not as lofty as they may seem.