From USOC News:
The U.S. men’s foil team of Dan Kellner (New York, N.Y.), Jon Tiomkin (New York, N.Y.), and Jed Dupree (New York, N.Y.) won gold Tuesday night in an intense and emotional bout against Cuba. In a come-from-behind win, the U.S. team beat the Cubans, 45-44, after trailing 30-40 going into the final match. Kellner, anchor for the U.S. team outscored Cuban fencing star Reinier Suarez 15-4 to secure the victory for the U.S. team.
It was the USA’s first win over Cuba in foil fencing since 1971.
The impact of this event has far-reaching results. The Pan American Games do not count towards Olympic Games qualification, but is a good indicator of how the U.S. men’s foil team could fare in the regional Olympic qualification event. Only one team from each region will go to the Olympic Games in Athens.
UP NEXT: The U.S. Men’s Epee Team will be dueling it out on Wednesday with prelims beginning at 9:00 and finals taking place at 18:00.
From Suzie Paxton:
Dan Kellner, anchor of men’s foil gold medal team and individual gold medalist:
On his 15-4 comeback win over Cuba star Raul Perojo…
“This is definitely one of the most pinnacle moments in my fencing career.”
“To make a 14-4 comeback, I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen it, let alone done it. There’s nothing like winning a team event. I’m just so psyched I could step up and help the team. Our goal was to win gold here and I can’t ask for a bigger ending. I just wish this were the qualification for the Olympics.”
“This was a great confidence builder for World Championships.”
“I lost 2-5 in the first bout and then the second match, I started
to fence better and could feel my confidence growing. I have a lot of confidence against Perojo because I beat him to make the finals in the individuals 15-6.”“The only time I really looked at the score was at 41-38 and I realized I could definitely do this. I felt like I was in a trance and at 44-42 it broke, and then he got two touches. At 44-44 I finished the action looked up and saw one light.”
On the team winning…
“Winning the individual (gold medal) was icing on the cake but our job here was to beat the Cubans and to show them that we are definitely the best country from this region (to qualify to the Olympic Games).”
“I’ve been on the U.S. team since I was 19 and I’ve never been on a team that could beat the Cubans.”
“Jon and Jed were behind me all the way. I’ve never been on a team that has this great a chemistry. We’re a team that’s greater than the sum of its parts. We’re all part of a machine and when we’re all doing our job, we can just steam roll anyone in the World. We’ve now beaten the Cubans, Italians, and the Chinese.”
On the celebration…
“I can’t believe we are leaving on a flight back home tonight. We wanted to stay and celebrate. We’ll have to do that on the flight.”
“I’ve always dreamed of being thrown up in the air like that.”
[b]Jon Tiomkin, men’s foil gold medal team member:
On Dan’s performance…
“There are no words to describe it. No words at all. That was absolutely incredible. I’ve never seen a comeback like that in my life at such a high level competition and with such high stakes. Projobo is an extremely good international fencer and he has tons of experience.”
On the team…
“That gave us a lot of confidence going into World Championships. That was such a huge win.”Jed Dupree, men’s foil gold medal team member:
On Dan’s performance…
“It was unbelievable. That gave us a lot of confidence going into
World Championships. We have a better sense of everyone’s potential.”“After watching that, I’m more confident in getting a real job that pays after I’m done fencing.”
On what they said to him after he won…
I couldn’t say anything. We just ran to throw him up in the air. It
was difficult because he’s pretty heavy.”Soren Thompson, men’s foil gold medal team member (alternate):
On Dan’s comeback…
“That was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen in fencing. Actually, it was the most amazing thing I’ve seen.”
Jeff Bukantz, U.S. Fencing Team Captain:
On the win…
“You dream of comebacks like that. 99% of the time, you might get close but can’t get over the hump. We knew Dan beat him (Probojo) by a large margin in individuals but team is another story. Its the first time we’ve beaten the Cuban team since 1971 in men’s foil.”
“This gives them tremendous confidence because they are trying to qualify to the Olympic by team and preparing for Worlds in Havana in October.”
On men’s foil national team coach, Simon Gershon…
“The lion’s share of the credit goes to their coach, Simon Gershon, who prepares the team mentally, physically, and tactically. The fencer’s trust him and he’s the glue to this team.”
On Dan Kellner’s performance…
“Kellner proved tonight without a doubt that he is the best men’s foil fencer in Santo Domingo and in this hemisphere.” “This was monumental for Dan. I’m really happy for him and the whole team.”
US Men’s Foil wins Gold – Beats Cuba
