U.S. Fencing Announces Team to the 2002 Junior/Cadet World Championships
The United States Fencing Association has selected the athletes who will represent the United States at the 2002 Junior and Cadet World Championships to be held in Antalya, Turkey, April 1-8, 2002.
Three athletes have been selected in each weapon (men's epee, foil, and sabre; women's epee, foil and sabre) for each age category, Cadet (Under-17) and Junior (Under-20). In addition to the individual competitions there is the Junior World Team Championships in each weapon with three fencers on a team.
The Junior and Cadet World Championships are held every year by the Federation Internationale d’Escrime (FIE), the international body which governs the sport of fencing. More than 100 countries are affiliated with the FIE, including the U.S. The USFA is the national governing body for the sport in the United States.
The World Under-20 Championships began with men’s foil in 1950. Men’s sabre was added in 1952, followed by men’s epee in 1955, women’s foil in 1956, women’s epee in 1989 and women’s sabre in 1999. The World Under-17 Championships began in 1987. The two championships have been held together since the 1993 event. Last year’s championships were held in Gdansk, Poland.
This year's team has its challenges in striving to surpass the record number of medals won by US athletes in last year's Championships. It would not be unexpected if the 2002 team surpassed last year's medal count of nine -- the U.S. all-time high. This year's team is a strong mix of young and extremely experienced contenders. Eighteen members have competed on Junior or Cadet Worlds teams in previous years; six are defending World Champions or medallists; fifteen have placed in the top eight of Senior or Junior/Cadet World Championships or World Cups.
One fencer, Mariel Zagunis (16, Beaverton, Ore/Oregon Fencing Alliance) will be named the season's Junior World Cup Champion in a ceremony at the Championships in Turkey. Zagunis eclipsed the rest of the Junior Women's Sabre field, far surpassing her nearest competitor.
The U.S. is rapidly gaining international recognition by the international medal performances; in 1992, Felicia Zimmermann won the first World Championship medal since 1975. U.S. fencers since then earned two medals in ’94, one in ’95 and ’96, three in ’97, two in ’98, and five in ’99.
NOTES:
Average Team Age: 16.6 years
Sister/Brother Acts: Two Pairs of siblings have qualified for this team. Sada and Emily Jacobson of Fayetteville, Ga., were also on the 2001 Junior/Cadet World Championships and the 2001 Senior World Championships teams together. Emily, 16, is still in high school, and Sada, 19, is a sophomore at Yale.
Sarah Parker is following in big brother Colin's footsteps. Sarah, 14, is a young sabre fencer also from Fayetteville, Ga., who aspires to mimic Colin's gold and silver medals from the 2001 Junior World Championships; Colin, 19, is a student at The Ohio State University.
All four siblings will fence in sabre events; see roster below.
Foundation Fencers: Kamara James (Under-20 women's epee) and Benjamin Bratton (Under-17, Under-20 men's epee) both got their start in the sport through the Peter Westbrook Foundation, an organization established by the six-time Olympian Peter Westbrook to teach fencing to inner-city kids.
Roster:
Cadet Men's Foil
Dimitri Kirk-Gordon (16, Campbell, Calif./Calif. Fencing Academy/homeschooled)
Brendan J. Meyers (13, New York, N.Y./Fencers Club/Professional Children's School)
Enoch Woodhouse (16, Boston, Mass./Boston Fencing Club/ The Roxbury Latin School)
Junior Men's Foil
Steve Gerberman (18, Missouri City, Texas/Salle Mauro/Stanford '05)
Derek Snyder (18, Chatsworth, Calif./Masque De Fer/U. Notre Dame '05)
Dimitri Kirk-Gordon (16, Campbell, Calif./Calif. Fencing Academy/homeschooled)
Men's Foil Coach: Michael Itkin, Beverly Hills, Calif. (Beverly Hills Fencers Club)
Cadet Women's Foil
Emily Cross (15, New York, N.Y./Fencers Club/The Brearly School)
Jacqueline Leahy (16, Aurora, Colo./Fencers Club/Eaglecrest High)
Jessica Florendo (16, Forest Hills, N.Y./Fencers Club/The Dwight School)
Junior Women's Foil
Andrea Ament (19, Gates Mills, Ohio/Saturn Fencing Center/Notre Dame '05)
Emily Cross (15, New York, N.Y./Fencers Club/The Brearly School)
Jacqueline Leahy (16, Aurora, Colo./Fencers Club/Eaglecrest High)
Women's Foil Coach: Mikhail Petin, New York, N.Y. (Fencers Club)
Cadet Women's Epee
Jasmine McGlade (16, resides London, Eng./Northern Colo. Fencers/American School in London)
Alli Schirtz (15, Beaverton, Ore./North West Fencing Center/ Woodrow Wilson H.S.)
Keri Byerts (15, Webster, N.Y./North West Fencing Center/ homeschooled)
Junior Women's Epee
Kamara James (17, Jamaica, N.Y./Westbrook Foundation/The Dwight School)
Kerry Walton (20, Londonderry, N.H./Seacoast Fencing/Notre Dame '04)
Jasmine McGlade (16, residing London, Eng./Northern Colo. Fencers/American School in London)
Women's Epee Coach: Michael Marx, Portland, Ore. (North West Fencing Center)
Cadet Men's Epee
Benjamin Bratton (16, Richmond Hill, N.Y./Westbrook Foundation/The Dwight School)
Benjamin Ungar (16, New York, N.Y./N.Y. Athletic Center/Bronx H.S. of Science)
Aaron Adjemian (16, El Paso, Texas/Texas Excalibur/Cathedral H.S.)
Junior Men's Epee
Benjamin Solomon(18, Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Alcazar Fencing Club/West Geauga High)
Benjamin Bratton (16, Richmond Hill, N.Y./Westbrook Foundation/The Dwight School)
Timothy French (18, Austin, Texas/Texas Fencing Academy/homeschooled)
Men's Epee Coach: Gary Copeland, Boulder, Colo. (Northern Colo. Fencers)
Junior Men's Sabre
Colin Parker (19, Fayetteville, Ga./Nellya Fencers/Ohio State Univ. '04)
Jason Rogers (18, Los Angeles, Calif./Salle Gascon/Ohio State Univ. '05)
Michael Momtselidze (18, Columbus, Ohio/Ohio Fencing Alliance/Whetstone H.S.)
Cadet Men's Sabre
Alexander Krul (16, Beverly Hills, Calif./Falcon Fencing Club/Beverly Hills HS)
Luther Clement (16, Prairie Village, Kans./Kans. City Fencing Athletic Club)
Patrick Ghattas (16, Beaverton, Ore./Oregon Fencing Alliance)
Men's Sabre Coach: Vladimir Nazlymov, Dublin, Ohio (The Ohio State University)
Junior Women's Sabre
Sada Jacobson (19, Fayetteville, Ga. /Nellya Fencers/Yale '04)
Mariel Zagunis (16, Beaverton, Ore./Oregon Fencing Alliance/Valley Catholic H.S.)
Emily Jacobson (16, Fayetteville, Ga./Nellya Fencers/Westminster Schools)
Cadet Women's Sabre
Mariel Zagunis (16, Beaverton, Ore./Oregon Fencing Alliance/Valley Catholic H.S.)
Emily Jacobson (16, Fayetteville, Ga./Nellya Fencers/Westminster Schools)
Sarah Parker (14, Fayetteville, Ga./Nellya Fencers/Heritage School)
Women's Sabre Coach: Edward Korfanty, Portland, Ore. (Oregon Fencing Alliance)
Referee: Vitali Nazlymov, Columbus, Ohio
Team Manager: Robert Largman, Morristown, N.J.
Chief of Mission: Carl Borack, Los Angeles, Calif.
For More Information Please Contact:
Cindy Bent
US Fencing Media Relations
(614) 284-4605 * usfencingmedia@earthlink.net
www.USFencing.org
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