SAN SALVADOR, EL SALVADOR (July 9, 2009)- The United States Fencing Team delivered a powerful performance at the Pan American Championships, winning more medals than any other fencing team in the history of the competition. During the tournament, the team captured 10 out of a possible 12 gold medals, taking home a total of 22 medals and sweeping three events.
{sidebar id=1} During the Pan American Championship team events, Team USA managed to snag nearly all of the gold medals, earning Gold in Men’s and Women’s Saber, Men’s and Women’s Foil, Women’s Epee and Silver in Men’s Epee. Both Men’s and Women’s teams were coming off of a historic performance at the Beijing Olympics, where US Fencing won a total six medals, three times more than any previous Olympic Games.
Veteran team member Tim Morehouse commented on the strong showing, “We are very proud of our team effort at the Pan American Championships and hope that this showing helps propel us to a strong performance during the World Championships in October.” Team USA will compete later this year in Antalya, Turkey at the upcoming 2009 World Championships, fencing’s premier annual event.
Olympic Silver Medalist Jason Rogers captured the gold in the Individual Men’s Saber event, defeating his Olympic Silver Medalist teammates James Williams and Tim Morehouse, who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. In the Women’s round, two-time Olympic Champion and top-ranked, Mariel Zagunis, also won a gold medal. New national team members Daria Schneider and Monika Aksamit finished in 2nd and 3rd respectively, while Dagmara Wozniak finished 5th.
In the Men’s Foil event, Kurt Getz won his second consecutive gold medal and teammates Gerek Meinhardt and Miles Chanley-Watson walked off with 2nd and 3rd place. Up and coming star Nzinga Prescod, the under-17 world champion, captured gold in Women’s Foil, while teammates Nicole Ross and Ambika Singh both took home bronze medals.
During the Men’s Epee event, Beijing Olympian and world-ranked #6 Seth Kelsey won the silver medal, while teammate Cody Mattern finished 3rd. Courtney Hurley captured gold in Women’s Epee after defeating teammate Lindsay Cambell in the final.
Medal Count
Country: Gold: Silver: Bronze: Total:
USA 10 5 7 22
Venezuela 1 3 3 7
Canada 1 1 1 4