Two U.S. fencers, Mariel Zagunis in saber and Seth Kelsey in épée were defeated Wednesday in bronze-medal matches. Zagunis was the two-time defending individual saber champion. For U.S. épée fencer Seth Kelsey London was his third Olympics, but he had never come close to medal contention.
Saber is a type of fencing where points can be scored by touching any part of the torso or arms with any part of the sword unlike foil and épée where only touches with the tip count. Simultaneous touches are not scored; the fencer which initiated the attack gets the point even if the other touched first.
Épée is a variety of fencing which uses a shorter, stiffer sword then the flexible foil, and where the entire body is a target, unlike foil where only the torso is a valid target. Unlike foil and saber, which have involved rules of priority in attack, épée rules reward the first touch every time, and award simultaneous touches.
Saber matches are generally fast-paced. The winning score of 15 points is usually reached in the first or second three-minute period. Épée matches usually involve a lot of feinting, waiting, and faking. It is not unusual for an épée match to last three periods or go to sudden-death overtime.
No Third Medal for Defending Saber Champion Zagunis
Mariel Zagunis won the gold in saber at Athens and Beijing, and expected to win again in London. After dominating in her early matches—no opponent finished within six—the 27-year-old Oregonian was surprised by Jiyeon Kim of Korea who fought back from an early deficit with a 10–1 run to win 15–13.
No longer able to win gold or silver, Zagunis faced off against 22-year-old Olga Kharlan of Ukraine, who had beaten Zagunis in their last several meetings.
The U.S. fencer came out quick to get a 4–1 lead but the Ukrainian sabreuse came back to tie at five and then kept the match close until she took the lead at 11. Zagunis couldn’t seem to find a tactic which worked against Kharlan—the Ukrainian scored eight of the last nine points to win 15–10.
Zagunis has won 20 gold medals in the World Cup, Pan American Games, Pan American Championship, and World Championships. She will need to wait until Rio in 2016 for her third Olympic gold.
Kelsey Stopped in Bronze-Medal Match
