{mosimage}Wow, Friday the 13th and time to get going with Olympic Fencing! The fencing starts tomorrow and we’ll be tracking the results. In the meantime, read up on the latest stores from the US and even one from China.
N.Y. FENCER GETS SMART
August 13, 2004 — ATHENS — A year ago Keeth Smart made history, becoming the first American fencer to hold the No. 1 ranking in the world. He called it one of his greatest accomplishments. It also became one of his greatest burdens.
[Read complete story at the NY Post]
Tan Xue faces tough draw in women’s sabre
ATHENS, Aug. 12 (Xinhuanet) — World fencing champion Tan Xue shoulders China’s hope to claim a gold medal in Athens Olympic Games, but she will have to conquer a series of challenge on her road, according to the draw held Thursday.
[Read full article]
Fencer’s success a refreshing tale
Smart, a saber-toting athlete, belongs to a species that’s fast going the way of the saber-toothed tiger. The U.S. fencer is among the last of a vanishing breed who flourished during the Pierre de Coubertin Era —- sports’ version of the Pleistocene Age.
[Full Article]
Refusing to be foiled
ATHENS — They might as well have carried lightsabers. Darth Vader himself would have drawn fewer stares.
Every day following middle school, siblings Keeth and Erinn Smart rode the New York City subway from their Brooklyn neighborhood to a Manhattan fencing academy, swords in hand. And nearly every day, the taunts came like untrained saber thrusts, less rapier wit than clumsy swipes.
[Full Article]
Photograph courtesy Serge Timacheff/FencingPhotos.com.