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By Beau Dure, USATODAY.com
A good old-fashioned Hollywood script calls for
the experienced swashbuckler to leap into action to save the day with a
saber. The U.S. women's fencing team happens to have a couple of
Olympic medalists who can play that part.
At the World Championships in Leipzig, Germany, the U.S. got through its first-round pairing against Britain with a couple of young fencers, 18-year-old Caitlin Thompson and 15-year-old Rebecca Ward, taking the bulk of the work. Sada Jacobson, a bronze medalist in Athens, closed out the 45-38 victory. From then on, Athens gold medalist Mariel Zagunis slashed through the competition. With the U.S. trailing early in the quarterfinal against France, Zagunis racked up a 9-4 score with her first stint, setting up Jacobson and Ward for a 45-32 win. Against Hungary in the semis, Zagunis again gave the U.S. a lead with an 8-4 stint and returned with two 5-0 whitewashes in the 45-27 win. In the final against Russia, Zagunis outscored her opponents 15-8 in her three stints with the sword and clinched a 45-36 victory. As a result, Zagunis, Jacobson, Ward and Thompson are world champions. For her efforts, Zagunis is USATODAY.com's U.S. Olympic Athlete of the Week. Zagunis also finished ninth in the individual saber. Jacobson took fifth, Ward seventh and Thompson 26th. Also at the World Fencing Championships: • Men's team saber, fifth: Adam Crompton, Ivan Lee, Tim Morehouse, Jason Rogers • Men's team foil, eighth: Dan Kellner, Jon Tiomkin, Jed Dupree, Andras Horanyi • Women's team foil, 10th: Andrea Ament, Sam Nemecek, Hanna Thompson, Doris Willette • Men's team epee, 14th: Seth Kelsey, Benjamin Solomon, Soren Thompson, Cody Mattern • Women's team epee, 15th: Lindsay Campbell, Kelley Hurley, Maya Lawrence, Lauren Willock • Men's individual foil: Kellner 35th, Horanyi 45th, Dupree 52nd, Tiomkin 66th CURLING At the Southwestern Ontario Charity Cashspiel in London, Ontario, Debbie McCormick's rink (or team) defeated Canada's Sherry Middaugh team 10-7 to capture the hotly contested World Curling Tour event. The championship squad consisted of McCormick, vice skip Allison Pottinger, second Nicole Joraanstad and lead Natalie Nicholson. Despite claiming the 2003 U.S. Curling Association Athlete of the Year award, McCormick's rink was bested at the Olympic Team Trials last February by Cassie Johnson's Torino-bound crew. SNOWBOARDING Michelle Gorgone reached the quarterfinals and finished seventh in a World Cup parallel giant slalom in Solden, Austria. Eric Warren and Adam Smith reached the elimination rounds in the men's event. GYMNASTICS Kassi Price claimed the all-around title at the 2005 Massilia Gym Cup in Marseilles, France. Price also earned golds on the uneven bars and floor exercise, and a silver on the vault. The U.S. took home a total of seven medals at the international meet, which featured teams from eight countries. Ashley Priess earned the silver medal on beam, as well as a seventh-place finish in the all-around. Shayla Worley won silver on the uneven bars. NEXT WEEK Skiing and snowboarding: Bode Miller begins the defense of his World Cup Alpine skiing title with a giant slalom in Solden, Austria. Also, the cross country season gets underway with some sprints in Dusseldorf, Germany, and the snowboard circuit moves to Switzerland. Figure skating: The world's best take to the Atlantic City ice at Skate America, the first of the season's six international Grand Prix Series competitions. Beach volleyball: Where else but Brazil? The FIVB circuit heads for a warmer climate. Contributing: Adam Hirshfield, USATODAY.com |
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