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Ward Wins Bronze Medal In Beijing
8/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
BEIJING - Incoming Duke freshman Rebecca Ward won a bronze medal in the Individual Women's Fencing Sabre competition Saturday at the Fencing Center in Beijing at the XXIX Summer Olympic Games.
Seeded No. 2, Ward was upset by teammate and No. 5 seeded Mariel Zagunis in the semifinals, 15-11. Ward and Zagunis are from the same club in Oregon and Zagunis is the defending Olympic gold medalist.
Ward then rebounded to defeat Russia's Sofiya Velikaya in the bronze medal match-up, 15-14. Velikaya scored five straight after they were tied at 1-1 to take a 6-1 lead. Ward cut the lead to 8-6 and after Velikaya took a 11-8 lead, Ward had a 5-0 run to take the lead, 13-11. Velikaya tied it at 13-13 and again at 14-14 after Ward took the advantage before Ward finished her off, 15-14.
After a Round of 64 bye, Ward defeated Araceli Navarro of Spain 12-7 after Navarro had to default because of a shoulder injury. Ward then looked unstoppable in the Round of 32, defeating Hungary's Orsolya Nagy, 15-5, in the most lopsided match-up of the round. After falling behind 8-5 at the minute break against Aaaz Besbes from Tunisia, she fought back to take a 14-12 lead before finally holding Besbes off with a 15-14 win.
The Americans swept the podium as Zagunis successfully defended her gold by defeating No. 1 seed Sada Jacobson, 15-8.
Ward's Olympics are not finished as she and her teammates will take part in the Women's Team Sabre competition on August 14. The Quarterfinals will begin at 9:30 p.m. ET August 13 with the medal matches taking place shortly after midnight on the east coast.
Saturday's Olympic Fencing Results
Women's Fencing Individual Sabre
Round of 64
Mailyn Gonzalez Pozo, Cuba, def. Nafi Toure, Senegal, 15-7.
Halyna Pundyk, Ukraine, def. Adele du Plooy, South Africa, 15-7.
Alexandra Bujdoso, Germany, def. Julie Cloutier, Canada, 15-2.
Irena Wieckowska, Poland, def. Siobhan Claire Byrne, Ireland, 15-8.
Sandra Sassine, Canada, def. Elvira Wood, South Africa, 15-2.
Azza Besbes, Tunisia, def. Jyoti Chetty, South Africa, 15-2.
Araceli Navarro, Spain, def. Angelica Larios, Mexico, 15-4.
Round of 32
Sada Jacobson, Dunwoody, Ga., def. Mailyn Gonzalez Pozo, Cuba, 15-11.
Olga Kharlan, Ukraine, def. Gioia Marzocca, Italy, 15-8.
Ekaterina Dyachenko, Russia, def. Madoka Hisagae, Japan, 15-10.
Olena Khomrova, Ukraine, def. Aleksandra Socha, Poland, 15-11.
Sofiya Velikaya, Russia, def. Halyna Pundyk, Ukraine, 15-7.
Ilaria Bianco, Italy, def. Huang Haiyang, China, 15-12.
Kim Keumhwa, South Korea, def. Carole Vergne, France, 15-14.
Tan Xue, China, def. Alexandra Bujdoso, Germany, 15-6.
Irena Wieckowska, Poland, def. Elena Nechaeva, Russia, 15-12.
Bao Yingying, China, def. Tsz Ki Chow, Hong Kong, 15-5.
Bogna Jozwiak, Poland, def. Alejandra Benitez Romero, Venezuela, 15-11.
Mariel Zagunis, Portland, Ore., def. Sandra Sassine, Canada, 15-10.
Azza Besbes, Tunisia, def. Leonore Perrus, France, 15-11.
Olga Ovtchinnikova, Canada, def. Lee Shinmi, South Korea, 15-13.
Orsolya Nagy, Hungary, def. Anne-Lise Touya, France, 15-13.
Becca Ward, Portland, Ore., def. Araceli Navarro, Spain, 12-7 DNF.
Round of 16
Sada Jacobson, Dunwoody, Ga., def. Olga Kharlan, Ukraine, 15-13.
Olena Khomrova, Ukraine, def. Ekaterina Dyachenko, Russia, 15-14.
Sofiya Velikaya, Russia, def. Ilaria Bianco, Italy, 15-6.
Tan Xue, China, def. Kim Keumhwa, South Korea, 15-8.
Bao Yingying, China, def. Irena Wieckowska, Poland, 15-6.
Mariel Zagunis, Portland, Ore., def. Bogna Jozwiak, Poland, 15-13.
Azza Besbes, Tunisia, def. Olga Ovtchinnikova, Canada, 15-12.
Becca Ward, Portland, Ore., def. Orsolya Nagy, Hungary, 15-5.
Quarterfinals
Sada Jacobson, Dunwoody, Ga., def. Olena Khomrova, Ukraine, 15-11.
Sofiya Velikaya, Russia, def. Tan Xue, China, 15-9.
Mariel Zagunis, Portland, Ore., def. Bao Yingying, China, 15-9.
Becca Ward, Portland, Ore., def. Azza Besbes, Tunisia, 15-14.
Semifinals
Sada Jacobson, Dunwoody, Ga., def. Sofiya Velikaya, Russia, 15-11.
Mariel Zagunis, Portland, Ore., def. Becca Ward, Portland, Ore., 15-11.
Bronze Medal
Becca Ward, Portland, Ore., def. Sofiya Velikaya, Russia, 15-14.
Gold Medal
Mariel Zagunis, Portland, Ore., def. Sada Jacobson, Dunwoody, Ga., 15-8.
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