NYC Grand Prix Information

[Craig]

article at www.fencing101.com. Lee has a match against another one of the Russians in the T-16.

[oiuyt]

According to the website for the world cup he's already through into the L8 (vs. Yakimenko). Way to go Ivan.

-B :)

[Craig]

According to the website for the world cup he's already through into the L8 (vs. Yakimenko). Way to go Ivan.

-B

Lee defeated Yakimenko 15-11.

Craig

[prototoast]

According to the website for the world cup he's already through into the L8 (vs. Yakimenko). Way to go Ivan.

-B

SEriously. Top 4 in his home town at a world cup--this is huge.

[Craig]

http://www.fencing101.com/content/view/262/2/

Pozdnaikov - Gold
Charikov - Silver
Lee and Lengyel - Bronze

[sabreman]

Just got back. Great fencing today and presented in style it deserved. As I mentioned on the other thread Poz is back in top form. His attacks are pretty much unstopable and just as great going backwards. A sabre fencing genius!

Also Igoe has big talent. The powers to be need to get this guy out and front.

[Mihail]

He was so close to beating the Pole and making the 16.

[nahouw]

Also Igoe has big talent. The powers to be need to get this guy out and front.

I talked with several different coaches throughout the day, and all had the same comment about Igoe -- big talent. All think that since he doesn't compete internationally often, it means that maybe money is an issue. Also, we all noticed that the only thing he needs to fix his his awareness of his distance -- he has great technique and timing, but when he gets hit, it is primarily due to his error in judging his distance that the opponents take advantage of. Perhaps by just competing domestically he has relied on his height too much, so with more exposure internationally, he can correct his distance awareness.

[whtouche]

I don't know that money is an issue or not. I have heard that his fencing is "totally sponsored" by rutgers. I think that includes travel costs to NACs, etc, but Im not absolutely sure, and don't know if it extends much beyond that.

He's witnessed a recent(last season or so) explosion in his fencing ability, that I've noticed. Just look at his results from one or two seasons ago and compare to now to realize this. Perhaps he hasn't competed internationally much yet because he's been building himself up into something that is worth unleashing on the international scene. I think he's done that, and he'll continue to get better.

[nahouw]

I don't know that money is an issue or not. I have heard that his fencing is "totally sponsored" by rutgers. I think that includes travel costs to NACs, etc, but Im not absolutely sure, and don't know if it extends much beyond that.

He's witnessed a recent(last season or so) explosion in his fencing ability, that I've noticed. Just look at his results from one or two seasons ago and compare to now to realize this. Perhaps he hasn't competed internationally much yet because he's been building himself up into something that is worth unleashing on the international scene. I think he's done that, and he'll continue to get better.

Hey, I don't know why he has growth this last season. My take is that he is a probably an unearthed gem that is coming into his own time that needs more nurturance -- needs to get more exposure, and considering his talent, he also needs an advisor to manage his activities. He can be big for US fencing; it is just a matter if US Fencing has programs to develop athletes accordingly.

[Craig]

Women's Sabre: Sada and Emily both make top 8. Emily loses to Velikaya, but it's close. Sada loses by 1 touch to Netcheava.

In women's foil, Iris Zimmerman had a really good day - made it to the top-4, losing to Lamonova of Russia.

Vezzali just can not be stopped. The toughest match of the day was a 15-7 win over Erinn Smart. She averaged less than 5 touches against per bout.

Craig

[vermilionsun]

Iris Zimmerman's bout in the final 8 against Hyun Hee Nam of Korea was tremendous. Iris came back from 9-13 to defeat her opponent 15-14. Nam was wonderfully quick and had the target area of a postage stamp. It was fantastic watching Iris methodically take back control of the match.

[Sabresque]

haha, I was waiting in the athlete staging area during that bout and couldn't see anything, but it was really funny. The whole place was so noisy I could tell what was going on by not watching. the whole stands being stamped on and roaring cheer, or huge loud "ooooooh". I was all worried about the fact that I couldn't see and my coach told me just to listen.

[Dan H]

It was a lot of fun to be able to watch the competition. Not even counting the fencing that counted, which was plentiful and very good, I got to watch stuff such as Vezzali and Trillini warming up against each other. I've never wished so hard that I knew Italian, so I could tell what the heck Vezzali was telling Trillini after each touch.

[Army Fencer]

WOW! Congrats to Men's Sabre. We have a real shot at gold in August!

I heard from my coach that one of the reasons why we took gold is because other countries were jocking for seeding at the Olympics (ie not wanting to fence Russia or Ukraine). Taking gold didn't change our seeding, but do you think there is any credence to that argument?

[neevel]

Well, I'm back from the shindig. Running control (my first time in charge of a full FIE control) and other armoring duties kept me from watching much fencing, but I did get to see the finals for WTF and WTS at the Roosevelt, the MS top 4, and the gold bout of the WF individual. It's already been noted that Pozdniakov was in great form. One thing I'd mention is that although Lee lost to him in the 4, towards the end of the bout he made a solid run at a comeback. Not enough to overhaul the lead Poz had established, but he showed everyone that he does have it in him to take on the best.

BTW, the armory crew did a fine job under very difficult conditions (no separate room for running control, 40% of the WF teams didn't submit their gear until an hour before the start time...). However, spending the afternoon and evening Sunday loading equipment into the shipping containers right next to a big and really, really smelly trash compactor sucked. Big time.

-Dave

[Zelda]

POOR Dave - well least we know what to send our favourite armourer for christmas - a gas mask!

[sabreman]

>>
I heard from my coach that one of the reasons why we took gold is because other countries were jocking for seeding at the Olympics (ie not wanting to fence Russia or Ukraine). Taking gold didn't change our seeding, but do you think there is any credence to that argument?
>>

Looks like the US passed China in the World rankings. I am sure someone can clarify but it looks like this win did help the US.

[silver2e]

Looks like the US passed China in the World rankings. I am sure someone can clarify but it looks like this win did help the US.

My understanding is that gold medal win did change rankings, and the US will now face France in initial round of OLympic Team MS.

And since US faced off against Russia as first bout at nyc grand prix, the only way for other MS teams to avoid fencing Russia was for them to make it into round of 8 !

[usfafencer]

of course there is creedence to the argument. There was plenty of jockeying for final placements at the Olympics. Think about it - which is the bigger prize, a world cup gold medal or an Olympic gold medal.

Also, I was also told by my coach that a certain fencer was going to lose a bout in order to get a better seeding at the Olympics. It happens. We don't have to agree with the idea, but we do need to deal with the reality of it.

I heard from my coach that one of the reasons why we took gold is because other countries were jocking for seeding at the Olympics (ie not wanting to fence Russia or Ukraine). Taking gold didn't change our seeding, but do you think there is any credence to that argument?