In a sport with a long European and Olympic pedigree, the gold medal bout in the women’s individual sabre pitted an American against a Chinese.
Mariel Zagunis, 19, who will be a freshman at Notre Dame later this month, made history by becoming the first American woman to win a gold medal in Olympic fencing. She defeated Tan Xue 15-9 for gold.
But for fellow American Sada Jacobson, who had come into the tournament ranked No. 1 in the world, the bronze medal was less than she had hoped for.
The last time the U.S. won a medal of any sort in an Olympic fencing event was in 1984, when Peter Westbrook took the bronze in men’s sabre.
The only American gold was won by Albertson Van Zo Post 100 years ago.
“In 1984 we were happy to get any medal,” said Jeffrey Bukantz, captain of the American team. “But tonight was our night. We had the best fencers. We deserved to win.
“For Mariel, the stars were aligned. It’s the best I’ve ever seen her fence. For her, there was less pressure than there was for Sada.”
Zagunis, 19, of Beaverton, Ore., raced to a 9-2 lead in the final, and Tan never regained her poise. The taller Chinese woman could not handle the aggressive thrusting attack of the American.
Tan closed within 12-7, but Zagunis quickly regained her focus and scored the next two points. One touch away from the gold medal, Zagunis got it on the third try.
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She squealed with delight as her coach and teammates rushed onto the piste, wrapped her in an American flag and hoisted her into the air.
“It felt so good,” Zagunis said. “It’s just an incredible feeling.
“It definitely went fast. But I knew exactly what was going on around me the whole time.”
Zagunis took up the sport when she was 10 and currently is ranked fourth in the world. But when the U.S. team was selected in March, she was not on it.
Zagunis gained her spot as the team’s final qualifier for sabre after the Nigerian Olympic Committee withdrew its competitor. Normally the slot would go to the next-highest-ranked competitor from Africa–but there was none. That opened the door for Zagunis, the highest-rated fencer who had not already qualified for Athens.
“I still kept training and kept my fingers crossed and just waited and hoped for the best,” Zagunis said.
In Tuesday’s semifinal, Zagunis defeated Catalina Gheorghitoaia of Romania 15-10.
For bronze-medal winner Jacobson, the evening was a bit of a letdown. In her semifinal match against Tan, the lead changed hands several times, but the world’s top-ranked woman was never able to establish control.
“It was just kind of a disappointing bout for me,” Jacobson said. “I just didn’t feel like I was myself.”
She beat Gheorghitoaia for the bronze 15-7 in a match that technically broke the United States’ 20-year medal drought since it came before the gold medal bout.
Traditionally, women have fenced only in foil and epee, in which competitors score by thrusting. The pace is slower and the matches more tactical.
In sabre, debuting in Athens, fencers score by thrusting and cutting. The target area is the entire body above the hips, and the scoring is much faster.