The underdog men’s foil team of Jed Dupree (Bethlehem, Pa.), Dan Kellner (Warren, N.J.) and Jon Tiomkin (Hewlett, N.Y.), ranked no. 7 going into the competition, defeated the hugely favored no.-2-seeded team from Germany in the round of 8, 45-43. US fencers have continued their unprecedented blaze of Olympic victories in Athens in the men’s foil competition. The team led for most of the match due to superb performances against a team stacked with the no. 4 fencer in the world, Ralf Bissdorf; the no. 8 fencer in the world, Peter Joppich, and the no. 15 fencer in the world, Andre Wessels. The Germans caught the US in the second to last encounter, leading by one touch 40-39. Dan Kellner took the team home with a 6-4 victory over Wessels to end the match 45-43. The semifinal round did not go as well for the U.S. men. They lost to a very strong team from China 45-35. Now the men’s foil team charges into the US’s second chance for a team medal, the bronze medal match, at 11:30 Eastern time. The men face Russia, which lost badly to Italy in their semifinal, 45-27. The entire US team has surpassed all expectations with its gold and bronze medals earned by Mariel Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore.) and Sada Jacobson (Dunwoody, Ga.) and by the 4th place finish of the men’s saber team, the highest in decades.
Men’s Foil: US upsets #2 Germany
