US takes home a bit o' hardware!

[Purple Fencer]

From the USFA website, just posted:

"BRONZE MEDAL FOR U.S. WOMEN'S FOIL!


The U.S. Women's Foil squad has won the BRONZE MEDAL at the 2001 World Championships in Nimes, France.


The returning Olympic veterans have avenged their loss in Sydney to the German team by defeating them 45-43. With this victory they bring home the first U.S. women's foil team Senior World Championship medal ever.


The U.S. team of Ann Marsh (30, Buffalo, N.Y.), Erinn Smart, (21, Brooklyn, N.Y.) Felicia Zimmermann (26, Rush, N.Y.) and Iris Zimmermann (20, Rush, N.Y.) first defeated the Ukrainian team 45-34 in the round of 16.


They then defeated the Romanian women, whose team included individual bronze medallist Roxana Scarlat and past world champion Reka Szabo-Lazar, by a score of 45-43 to advance to the round of 4.


There they met a strong Russian team, including individual bronze medallist Ekaterina Youcheva, and lost 45-39 in their attempt to reach the bout for the gold.


Then came the bout for the bronze - against a team which featured individual silver-medallist Sabine Bau and three more fencers who finished in the top 26 of the individual event days ago."

I loved that the score against Germany was the same as at the Olympics...Did Germany get a covering call, too?

[OleMissFencer]

Wow a US medal? thats pretty awesome, USA winning anything on a world level always seems so rare. Great to hear we got something!

[Moonitic]

::ahem:: Leave it to the women to get the job done!

[HilandDoug]

Woo-Hoo! You go girls! Did we mention that Ann is originally from Michigan?

[big poppa]

Yes Doug I know. Did Ann used to carry a stuffed animal to touraments? I think she did in the 87 J O s.

[Tomas N]

This is great for US fencing. I haven't seen a lot of world class fencing (except for EDEW's videos) and was wondering what generally separates the U.S. from the rest of the world. Training? Physical ability of folks who go into it? Something else?

Tomas

[Purple Fencer]

Originally posted by Tomas N:
<STRONG>This is great for US fencing. I haven't seen a lot of world class fencing (except for EDEW's videos) and was wondering what generally separates the U.S. from the rest of the world. Training? Physical ability of folks who go into it? Something else?

Tomas</STRONG>

It certainly isn't the physical ability angle. I think it's more that 1) fencing is basically a European-born aport and b) Americans are sports-arrogant...if we didn;t invent it, we generally don't want to play it. An exception is made for golf, if oinly because it's a fairly old sport. You also have the angle that MOST sports we get involved with are the "out-the-rock-in-the-hole" or "whoever-runs/throws fastest/farthest-wins" kind. The average beer-swilling good ol' boy isn't going to try to decipher the subtlities of foil rught of way when it's easier to determine the winner in a 100 yard dash. He doesn't need to see or understand the little things that separate a Carl Lewis from Joe Shmo...Carl crosses the line first, he's the winner, end of story. Foil ROW, in the other hand...well, we all know how difficult it can be for US!

However, the current crop of competitors (the Zimmermans, Zanuguis, etc) started when very young, and have had the benefit of training and competiiton as they get older and mroe physiclaly able to do the job; they don't have to try and train an older body and mind from the beginning.

[edew]

I think Sam's last point is, urm, to the point. European fencers do start young. I recall when I visited Tauberbischofsheim in '85. I talked to Frank Beck, Emil's son. He told me that he started, more or less, at age 2, with specific gymnastic exercises, and started working with a weapon at around 6. Then, the top women foilists were from Tauber, and they were all teenagers, Zita, Anja, et al., and they all started when they were 10 or 12. It helps that, being in Tauber, there's really nothing else to do because it's such a small, quiet sleepy town.

What will happen is that once this first generation of young fencers pass (i.e., hit 25 or so), the next generation will be killers. I see plenty of kids in our local youth tournaments. Some are under 10, some are just 12. And boy, they're tough! Last weekend, I looked at the pool sheet for a Youth-12 foil event I was refereeing in (42 fencers). My pool looked awfully tough, and I though, hmm...maybe it wasn't seeded properly. Then I looked at other pools and realized that there's quite a number of tough kids fencing in these events.

Those kids will be at the cusp. The ones coming after them, say five years from now, will be the deadly ones. So expect something great for US fencing by 2008.

[sdcox]

I read in Carla Mae's update on the USFA website that Ann wom the final bout 14-3 to bring the team back and win the bronze. Does anyone know which German fenced last? Was it Sabine Bau or Rita Koenig? Or somebody else?

Just curious,
Susan

[Cutter]

I just got word on Saturday that Sada Jacobson took the gold in women's sabre and one of my teammates, Anika Eiremo took bronze (beat Murial Zagunes to take it and lost to Jacobson earlier by only 1 touch.)

[neevel]

She might've been thinking of Jr./Cadet worlds this last spring, not Nimes. Touya took the WS gold, Bianco silver, and Jemayeva and Marzocca the bronzes. Emily Jacobsen made it into the 8 (7th place), Marial Zagunis was 11th, and Sada 12th. Nicole Mustilli was 21st.

-Dave

[Cutter]

Sorry I didn't clarify...not Nimes...Italy

[Boo Boo]

Ariccia (Italy) - U20 women's sabre A-grade.

Boo