Mariel Zagunis faced a great deal of pressure coming into the 2012 Olympics. She was the lone member left on the US Olympic team from the historic medal sweep of the 2008 Games and was going for her 3rd straight Olympic Gold medal.
Since she burst onto the scene in 2004, winning from the “wild card” spot, she has been the face of US Fencing. She has sponsors, trains full time, and even has a Topps card adorned with her image.
Coming into 2012, she was being compared to Valentina Vezzali. Should Mariel win the gold, she would have tied the Queen of Swords for individual gold medals.
Once you are on top – everyone wants to knock you off.
Her challengers were already lined up. Olga Kharlan, whose Ukrainian team won the gold in Beijing, had recently scored a victory against Zagunis in Chicago. Sofya Velikaya had also posted victories against Zagunis this season and was not the shell-shocked competitor from the 2008 medal rounds.
In the 2012 season, when you talked about women’s sabre, you talked about the triumverate of Zagunis, Velikaya, and Kharlan. Those were the three dominant forces in sabre and it was not if they would medal but how the medals would be divided between them.
When the brackets for women’s sabre were released, US fans breathed a sigh of relief. Kharlan and Velikaya would battle each other for the right to take on the American champion.
Kim Jiyeon (KOR) had other plans.
Kim Jiyeon was not out of place in the medal rounds. She had posted several 3rd place finishes in the season, but had never beaten Zagunis or Kharlan and had a 1-2 record against Velikaya.
In fact, women’s sabre went according to plan all the way up to the medal rounds. Zagunis, Velikaya, and Kharlan all advanced while Kim defeated #4 Vassiliki Vougiouka (GRE) for the 3rd time this season.
As Kim and Zagunis faced off, the bout was going according to plan. Zagunis stormed out to an early lead at the break and then pushed out to 12-5. Somehow the wheels came off and Kim started scoring touches. After a few moments it was clear that these were not just a few lucky hits, but the beginning of a run.
An 8-1 run by Kim would make the score 13-13. She would then land 2 clean ripostes at the end to win 15-13.
Reflecting on the bout, Zagunis said “She (KIM Jiyeon KOR) did not beat me. I defeated myself. I was dominating the fight and everything was going right. I got too excited at 12-6 when I was up and I had a lapse in concentration. I was definitely impatient. I should have slowed down.”
On the other side of the bracket, Velikaya opened up an 8-3 lead on Kharlan and then weathered a comeback as Kharlan narrowed the lead to one touch. Up 14-13, Velikaya landed a riposte to advance to the gold medal bout.
Going for the bronze, Zagunis again held an early lead, then Kharlan came back to tie the score at 9-9. Kharlan nosed ahead by a touch and then held on to win the bronze medal 15-10.
In the gold medal bout, Kim Jiyeon stormed out to a 6-2 lead on Velikaya and did not let off the gas until she had won 15-9. “I feel like I’m living a dream. I can’t believe that I really won a gold medal. I’m so happy for that. I still can’t feel I’ve just become an Olympic champion.” said Kim following the medal ceremony.
Dagmara Wozniak (USA) competed well in her Olympic debut, defeating 7th seed Azza Besbes (TUN) but then lost a close match to Sofya Velikaya (RUS) 15-13. “I was happy that I just tried my best but she outsmarted me,” said Wozniak. Wozniak finished 8th.
