Hungary wins Men’s Sabre World Championship

Hungary took the early lead and led for the entire match as France settled for silver in the Men’s Team Sabre event.  Down by 7 touches in the final bout, French reserve Vincent Anstett put the pressure on Hungary’s closer Aron Szilagyi with a 10-5 bout, but was unable to take the lead as Szilagyi closed out the match 45-43.

Italy took the bronze, defeating the Ukraine 45-44 follwing a 6-4 final round by individual silver medalist Aldo Montano.

The U.S. team of Ivan Lee (26, Brooklyn, N.Y.), Tim Morehouse (29, Bronx, N.Y.),  Jason Rogers (24, Los Angeles, Calif.) and Keeth Smart (29 Brooklyn, N.Y.) faced Germany in their first match, in the round of 32, and lost 45-42  The US led briefly as Ivan Lee and Tim Morehouse went a combined 16-8 against their opponents to put the US up 40-38.  Germany closed out the bout with Bjoern Huebner’s  7-2 run against Keeth Smart.

Importantly for the squad’s Olympic prospects, the U.S. men finished ahead of Canada. The U.S. team must be the highest-ranked in the Western Hemisphere as of April 2008 in order to qualify for Beijing.

In placement rounds, the U.S. men defeated Venezuela 45-36, lost to Korea 45-43, and defeated Spain 45-34.

That final match included an incredible 14-2 run by Lee in the middle of the match against Spain’s closer and the 2007 European Champion, Jorge Pina. At the end of the day, the U.S. men finished 11th.

They finished ahead of any other team on the continent. After Worlds, the U.S. men are ranked tenth, ahead of Canada, now ranked 11th.

Final Placements

Direct Elimination Table – Final 8

Bronze Medal Match