After four days of fencing in Argentina, US athletes have walked away with one silver and one bronze from individual competition.
2018 Cadet World Champion Kenji Bravo has taken silver in the men’s foil and May Tieu, who was a runner-up in the same championships, has taken bronze in the women’s foil at the Youth Olympics currently underway in Buenos Aries, Argentina.
Fencing against most of the best young fencers in the world, Bravo looked comfortable in most of his early bouts, before coming up against Denmark’s Jonas Winterberg-Poulsen in the semifinal, which Bravo edged out 15-13. In the final, French fencer Armand Spichiger was too good, defeating a drained Bravo, 15-7.
In the women’s foil, May Tieu was also convincing in the early rounds, bullying her opposition until falling to a very strong Martina Favaretto from Italy 15-5. In the bronze medal match she narrowly out touched Venezuela’s Anabella Acurero Gonzalez 8-7 to complete one of the biggest results of her career to date. Robert Vidovszky missed out on bronze after going down 15-10 to Mazen Elaraby in their medal bout.
In the team competition, which was a mixed gender and mixed weapon event, an Americas team featuring Vidovszky, Bravo, Tieu, Isaac Herbst and Emily Vermeule from the USA defeated a European team 30-24 to win bronze. In the gold medal match, Europe 1 defeated an Asia-Oceania team 28-25.
The Youth Olympics continues in Buenos Aries until October 18 and features 241 events in 32 sports. 206 countries including first-time participants South Sudan and Kosovo are taking part.
Full Results
Men’s Sabre
1. Krisztian Rabb (HUN)
2. Jun Hyun (KOR)
3. Mazen Elaraby (EGY)
Women’s Foil
1. Yuka Ueno (JPN)
2. Martina Favaretto (ITA)
3. May Tieu (USA)
Men’s Epee
1. Davide di Veroli (ITA)
2. Paul Veltrup (GER)
3. Khasan Baudunov (KGZ)
Women’s Epee
1. Kateryna Chorniy (UKR)
2. Kaylin Sin Yan Hsieh (HKG)
3. Veronika Bieleszoka (CZE)
Women’s Sabre
1. Liza Pusztai (HUN)
2. Natalia Botello Cervantes (MEX)
3. Jueun Lee (KOR)
Men’s Foil
1. Armand Spichiger (FRA)
2. Kenji Bravo (USA)
3. Jonas Winterberg-Poulsen (DEN)
