New London ― Three years, some talent and a great deal of practice were all a local woman needed to make a name for herself by beating out three male challengers to win a nationally televised knife throwing competition.

Sarah Baklik, 39, who began throwing knives and axes in 2019, had competed in ― and lost ― only two small events before defeating world champion and professional knife throwers to take the top prize on a recent episode of the History Channel’s show “Mountain Men: Ultimate Marksman.”

Filmed in August 2022, the episode, “Think Fast,” which aired in early September, pitted Baklik against three competitors, including two world champion throwers, one of whom is a professional knife thrower with more than 25 years of experience and holds 44 world records.

To be named the Ultimate Marksman, competitors had to demonstrate precision by throwing knives at balloons and power by throwing a knife hard enough to break a pane of glass and still embed the knife in a target. These challenges did not play to Baklik’s strengths. She gained a few points in them but trailed in the competition.

A third challenge saw competitors walk through wooded terrain to hit moving targets that would drop as soon as the competitor picked up a knife to throw. Baklik excelled at this challenge, taking the lead over the three men.

A final challenge forced them to wade through waist-to-chest deep water over submerged logs and slippery river rocks from one target to the next, throwing two knives and moving on, trying to get to all four targets within two minutes. This challenge also played to Baklik’s strengths, and though the final point tally was close, she was able to maintain her lead and win the competition.

Baklik, a former chef who currently runs a small home-based business, said her adaptability was a big factor in her ability to clinch the title of “Ultimate Marksman,” along with the $10,000 prize.

Baklik explained that competitive knife throwers throw on flat surfaces with distances marked out and have their own sets of knives, with identical lengths, weights and shapes, but she practiced by throwing a random assortment of whatever knives she had and always moved her targets around to learn how to adapt to different surfaces.

“I was always giving myself the disadvantage, but that always gave me the advantage, because it made me more well rounded,” she explained.

Baklik began throwing knives and axes as a way to cope with her divorce.

“Instead of sitting with the stress and anxiety, I could go outside, chuck a few knives for half an hour, get my heart rate up, feel good, release some serotonin,” she explained.

“I was terrible for a whole year,” she said, explaining that she didn’t research techniques because she wanted to learn the hard way.

She joked that over that first year, she learned all the ways not to throw a knife, but she never let her failures stop her, and little by little she improved, challenging herself further with each new skill she learned — from just hitting the target to moving targets, trick throws and throwing at moving targets while balancing on a tightrope.

She said knife and axe throwing, which is more popular in other countries, has been growing in America, and that one of its most wonderful features is its inclusivity. She said there are few barriers to it, and people of all ages and abilities can enjoy it.

“I think it keeps people very young,” she said. “I’ve been to throws where there are old people in walkers, and people are helping them up just so they can get a few throws in and hang out with people, and there’s little kids there throwing. And it is such a family community.”

She said the experience was a whirlwind, and after she won, she had to wait until the episode aired before she could tell anyone, including her family.

Now that Baklik can talk about it, she said, she wants to use her win to teach others all she has learned, so they can enjoy the sport and its benefits as well.