In a repeat of the 1996 Olympic Gold medal bout, Russian teammates Stanislav Pozdniakov and Sergei Charikov met in the finals of the 2004 New York Grand Prix.
Pozdniakov used a 6-0 run in the middle of the bout to erase an early lead by Charikov. Pozdniakov answered each attempt by Charikov to close the score and won the gold medal bout 15-12.
In the quarterfinal match-ups, Charikov used a 5-1 run to end the first period up 8-5 against Balazs Lengyel of Hungary. The two traded touches throughout the rest of the match to end at 15-13.
US fencer Ivan Lee was unable to make up an 8-3 first round deficit and lost 9-15 to eventual gold medal winner Pozdniakov.
This is Lee’s first top-4 finish this season and will have a positive impact on his seeding into the Olympic tournament.