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Countdown to Beijing '08 - Fencing outlook
// USOC Media Services // September 22, 2006
Outlook
The addition of Team Women's Saber and re-inclusion of Team Women's Foil events to the 2008 roster of events puts U.S. Fencing in excellent position to better the historic results from the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Two U.S. women's saber fencers, Mariel Zagunis (21, Beaverton, Ore.) and Sada Jacobson (23, Dunwoody, Ga.) won gold and bronze in Greece, the first two medals in 20 years. Zagunis's was the first gold for U.S. Fencing in 100 years.
The two veterans continue to dominate the world women's saber scene. Zagunis won the 2006 World Cup overall title; Jacobson, the title holder from 2003-2005, followed close behind in seventh.
A string of young U.S. athletes are hard on their heels. Zagunis's Oregon Fencing Alliance clubmate Rebecca Ward (16, Portland, Ore.), 2006 Junior and Cadet World Champion, is ranked eighth, and seems unstoppable on her rise to the top.
The trio, along with OFA teammate Caitlin Thompson (18, Portland, Ore.), won the 2005 World Championship title and continues to steamroll contenders at nearly every outing.
Other U.S. women are swiftly rising through the world rank as well, and veterans of the 2000 and 2004 Games may rejoin them.
2000 Olympic veteran Iris Zimmermann, for instance, has resumed training in earnest after taking some time off to complete her studies at Stanford University.
Zimmermann, the 1999 World Championships bronze medalist and 2005 bronze medalist by team, reached the round of 16 at the 2000 Olympic Games and was on the team which missed the bronze medal by a mere three touches.
Emily Cross (19, New York, N.Y.), a student at Harvard University, 2005 NCAA National Champion, 2005 U.S. National Champion and two-time World Under-20 Champion (2005, 2006) currently is the front-running U.S. foilist. She made her first World Cup final in Las Vegas in June and is gaining experience and strength with every competition.
On the men's side, the 2004 Olympic U.S. men's epee and saber teams continue to train hard together. Soren Thompson (25, San Diego, Calif.), who placed seventh in the epee event in 2004, is sure to be among the strong individual contenders.
All three members of the Men's Saber team which took fourth by one heartbreaking touch should be back on board: Keeth Smart (28, New York, N.Y.), the first U.S. fencer to ever be ranked No. 1 in the world; Ivan Lee (25, Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Jason Rogers (23, Los Angeles, Calif.), along with 2008 Olympic Alternate Tim Morehouse, are all training hard.
The men's foil team was rocked by the exclusion of the Men's Team Foil event from the 2008 Olympic Games. As of summer 2006, it remains to be seen which of the veterans of the outstanding 2004 team which placed fourth will remain in World Cup competition.
At least two of those athletes, Jon Tiomkin (27, Hewlett, N.Y.) and Jed Dupree (26, New York, N.Y.) are still pointed at that goal and continue to compete and reach World Cup finals.
Storylines
Women’s Sabre Team Event: The event will be included for the first time in the program of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. This is exciting news for U.S. Fencing, as U.S. women's saber fencers continue to dominate the world stage. In 2004, women's saber fencer Mariel Zagunis (21, Beaverton, Ore.) earned the first gold medal in 100 years for the U.S., and Sada Jacobson (23, Dunwoody, Ga.) won the bronze in the same event. In June 2006, Zagunis clinched the title of overall FIE 2006 World Cup Champion. Three other U.S. athletes finished in the top ten of the World Cup standings. Jacobson finished the season ranked seventh. Zagunis's Oregon Fencing Alliance clubmate Rebecca Ward (16, Portland, Ore.), 2006 Junior and Cadet World Champion, is ranked eighth.
Women's Foil veterans taking the stage: On news of the restoration of the women's foil team event to the 2008 Games, women's foil veterans are coming out of the woodwork to take another shot at Olympic glory. 2000 Olympic veteran Iris Zimmermann, for instance, has resumed training in earnest after taking some time off to complete her studies at Stanford University. Zimmermann, the 1999 World Championships bronze medalist and 2005 bronze medalist by team, reached the round of 16 at the 2000 Olympic Games and was on the team which missed the bronze medal by a mere three touches. Another athlete in the hunt for Olympic glory is Emily Cross (19, New York, N.Y.), a student at Harvard University, 2005 NCAA National Champion, 2005 U.S. National Champion, and two-time World Under-20 Champion (2005 ,2006).
Men's Vets Return: Many veterans of the 2004 Olympic Games, the U.S.'s most successful ever, have returned to training hard for 2008. All three members of the Men's Saber team which took fourth by one heartbreaking touch are training hard: Keeth Smart (28, New York, N.Y.), the first U.S. fencer to ever be ranked No. 1 in the world; Ivan Lee (25, Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Jason Rogers (23, Los Angeles, Calif.), along with 2008 Olympic Alternate Tim Morehouse. A strong contingent of young athletes are right at their heels. Newcomer James Williams (20, Sacramento, Calif.) edged out Rogers at the 2006 National Championships to earn his first-ever place on the 2006 Senior Worlds team which will compete in Turin this October.
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