For today, the dream is over. Despite leading throughout the second half of a brave, athletic match against Russia, the US team of Ivan Lee (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Jason Rogers (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Keeth Smart (Brooklyn, N.Y.) lost the bronze medal by one touch.
The match started off with the US trailing by as many as 5 touches, but the US men clawed their way back touch by touch, taking the lead 25-24 as Smart faced Alexey Yakimenko.
The men scraped out one after the other, gaining first one and then two touches over the 2000 gold medal Russian team, until Lee took the strip in the penultimate match-up, against Sergei Charikov, who finished 8th in the individual competition days ago.
Lee fenced his heart out, diving, stretching, and using the entire strip to cause Charikov to fall short and then attack. The encounter ended with a 40-35 lead for the U.S.
But then Stanislav Pozdniakov took the strip against Smart, and the Russian master showed the experience and cool that has won him four Olympic golds to date. Despite a great effort from Smart, Pozdniakov brought the score up to 44-44, and finished the heart-stopping match with an attack for 45-44.
In the gold-medal match, France defeated Italy 45-42 in a lively and contentious match.
Tomorrow, the women’s epee team competition takes place. The US did not qualify a team. Top seeded Germany is likely to face Hungary’s second-seeded team for the final, which includes individual gold medallist Timea Nagy.
US foilists Jed Dupree (Bethlehem, Pa.), Dan Kellner (Warren, N.J.), and Jon Tiomkin (Hewlett, N.Y.) take the stage on Saturday. Seeded 7th, they will face #2 seed Germany in team men’s foil competition.