Road to Athens: Zagunis makes 3 for US Women's Sabre!

“This was the best weekend of my life!”

US Women’s Sabre fencer Mariel Zagunis now has her ticket punched for Athens! Zagunis capped off a strong World Cup win with the announcement by the US Fencing Association that she had been awarded a bid to compete in the Athens Olympic Games.

At the Coupe du Monde in Tauberbischofsheim, Germany this weekend, Zagunis defeated world #5 Anne-Lise Touya of France 15-13. All 3 US Olympic fencers placed in the top 20.

Zagunis is now ranked #6 in the world in Women’s Sabre; all 3 US fencers are in the top 10. (Sada Jacobson: 1st, Emily Jacobson: 8th).

Fencing.Net originally reported that there was some speculation that Mariel Zagunis could qualify for the Olympics if one of the African nations chose not to send an athlete. The Nigerian National Olympic Committee (NOC) refused the spot earned for their originally qualified athlete (ESIMAJE of NGR). Tunisian athlete Sondès Smandi may receive a bid from her NOC (National Olympic Committee.)

Upon returning home from Germany, Mariel Zagunis heard the news from Coach Ed Korfanty’s wife. “This was the best weekend of my life!” said Zagunis when reached for comment.

Zagunis will now be the 3rd US Women’s Sabre fencer at the Athens Olympic Games, giving the US a much better chance at a medal. The United States and France are the only countries with 3 athletes qualified in Women’s Sabre.

Results from the Tauberbischofsheim World Cup

**Quarter finals: **
Svetlana Kormilitsyna (Russia) def. Orsolya Nagy (Hungary) 15-14
Anne Lise Touya (France) def. Cecile Argiolas (France) 15: 13
Gioia Marzocca (Italy) def. Natalia Makeeva (Russia) 15-14
Mariel Zagunis (USA) def. Sophia Velikaia (Russia) 15: 14

Semi-finals:
Anne Lise Touya def. Svetlana Kormilitsyna 15-10
Mariel Zagunis def. Gioia Marzocca 15-14

Finals:
Mariel Zagunis def. Anne Lise Touya 15-13

Final Placements:

**Pl **	** Last Name**	** First Name**	** Nation**
** 1 **	** ZAGUNIS **	** Mariel **	** USA**
2	TOUYA	Anne-Lise	FRA
3	KORMILITSYNA	Svetlana	RUS
3	MARZOCCA	Gioia	ITA
5	ARGIOLAS	Cecile	FRA
6	VELIKAIA	Sophia	RUS
7	NAGY	Orsolya	HUN
8	MAKEEVA	Natalia	RUS
**9 **	** JACOBSON **	** Sada **	** USA **
10	SOCHA	Aleksandra	POL
11	PERRUS	Leonore	FRA
12	KÖNIG	Susanne	GER
13	JEMAYEVA	Elena	AZE
14	GHEORGHITOAIA	Catalina	ROM
15	FEDORKINA	Ekatarina	RUS
16	BAZHENOVA	Irina	RUS
17	NETCHAEVA	Elena	RUS
18	TAN	Xue	CHN
**19 **	** JACOBSON **	** Emily **	** USA**
20	BENAD	Sandra	GER
21	JOZWIAK	Bogna	POL
22	EL GUINDOU	Maha	FRA
23	KLEMM	Sibylle	GER
24	MAIER	Diana	GER
25	BYRNE	Siobhan	IRL
26	ZHANG	Ying	CHN
27	JOUKOVA	Margarita	RUS
28	BIANCO	Ilaria	ITA
29	WIECKOWSKA	Irena	POL
30	PRESSMAR	Julia	GER
31	BUJDOSO	Alexandra	HUN
32	BIESINGER	Tamara	GER
33	HÄNTZSCH	Doreen	GER
34	COSAR	Martha	GER
35	THIELTGES	Sabine	GER
36	WESOLOWSKA	Anna	POL
37	SAUER	Eve	GER
38	CARRIER	Magali	FRA
39	SCHAUB	Anke	GER
40	VIGNAUX	Pascale	FRA
41	LEE	Shin Mi	KOR
42	BENITEZ	Alejandra	VEN
43	BERENGIER	Julie	FRA
44	KUBISSA	Stefanie	GER
45	HISAGAE	Madoka	JPN
46	BLOCK	Reija	GER
47	NAKAMURA	Haruko	JPN
48	VERGNE	Carole	FRA
49	KOSCIUCHA	Monika	POL
50	JANZ	Nicolett	GER
51	POUTEIL-NOBLE	Eve	FRA
52	JEANNY	Aurelie	FRA
53	HIRZMANN	Davina	GER
54	BERTHIER	Anne-Laure	FRA
55	KARPINSKA	Katarzyna	POL
56	POTSCHKA	Susanne	GER
57	BUDNA	Karolina	POL
58	GOTTHARDT	Mirjam	GER
59	FUTADA	Noriko	JPN
60	DORON	Julie	FRA
61	GUTERMUTH	Martina	GER
62	WOSCHEK	Janina	GER
63	HERMANN	Wiebke	GER
64	JAJESNIAK	Monika	POL
65	ZERFASS	Amelie	GER
66	SUGIYAMA	Fumino	JPN
67	MICHALKE	Friederike	GER
68	GEBERT	Marline	GER
69	TSCHOMAKOV	Margarita	GER
70	KLÖHN	Gunilla	GER
70	GROE	Manuela	GER
72	VAN VUURE	Bonnie	NED
72	MUNZ	Lisa	GER
74	BROER VAN DIJK	Laurien	NED
75	MUNZ	Eva	GER

DE Table of 64

1	JACOBSON Sada	USA
			JACOBSON Sada
64	JAJESNIAK Monika	POL	15/5
				JACOBSON Sada
33	SCHAUB Anke	GER		15/7
			BIANCO Ilaria
32	BIANCO Ilaria	ITA	15/6
					NAGY Orsolya
17	NAGY Orsolya	HUN			15/14
			NAGY Orsolya
48	VERGNE Carole	FRA	15/9
				NAGY Orsolya
49	KOSCIUCHA Monika	POL		15/14
			JOZWIAK Bogna
16	JOZWIAK Bogna	POL	15/10
9	KÖNIG Susanne	GER
			KÖNIG Susanne
56	POTSCHKA Susanne	GER	15/8
				KÖNIG Susanne
41	BERENGIER Julie	FRA		15/13
			BYRNE Siobhan
24	BYRNE Siobhan	IRL	15/13
					KORMILITSYNA Svetlana
25	KORMILITSYNA Svetlana	RUS			15/9
			KORMILITSYNA Svetlana
40	BENITEZ Alejandra	VEN	15/11
				KORMILITSYNA Svetlana
57	BUDNA Karolina	POL		15/9
			JACOBSON Emily
8	JACOBSON Emily	USA	15/14
5	TOUYA Anne-Lise	FRA
			TOUYA Anne-Lise
60	DORON Julie	FRA	15/7
				TOUYA Anne-Lise
37	WIECKOWSKA Irena	POL		15/11
			WIECKOWSKA Irena
28	WESOLOWSKA Anna	POL	15/8
					TOUYA Anne-Lise
21	KLEMM Sibylle	GER			15/7
			KLEMM Sibylle
44	HISAGAE Madoka	JPN	15/14
				JEMAYEVA Elena
53	HIRZMANN Davina	GER		15/7
			JEMAYEVA Elena
12	JEMAYEVA Elena	AZE	15/7
13	ARGIOLAS Cecile	FRA
			ARGIOLAS Cecile
52	JEANNY Aurelie	FRA	15/7
				ARGIOLAS Cecile
45	BIESINGER Tamara	GER		15/6
			BIESINGER Tamara
20	HÄNTZSCH Doreen	GER	15/13
					ARGIOLAS Cecile
29	JOUKOVA Margarita	RUS			15/11
			JOUKOVA Margarita
36	VIGNAUX Pascale	FRA	15/7
				SOCHA Aleksandra
61	GUTERMUTH Martina	GER		15/12
			SOCHA Aleksandra
4	SOCHA Aleksandra	POL	15/12
3	TAN Xue	CHN
			TAN Xue
62	WOSCHEK Janina	GER	15/5
				MAKEEVA Natalia
35	MAKEEVA Natalia	RUS		15/11
			MAKEEVA Natalia
30	SAUER Eve	GER	15/8
					MAKEEVA Natalia
19	FEDORKINA Ekatarina	RUS			15/11
			FEDORKINA Ekatarina
46	BLOCK Reija	GER	15/6
				FEDORKINA Ekatarina
51	POUTEIL-NOBLE Eve	FRA		15/6
			BENAD Sandra
14	BENAD Sandra	GER	15/7
11	GHEORGHITOAIA Catalina	ROM
			GHEORGHITOAIA Catalina
54	BERTHIER Anne-Laure	FRA	15/8
				GHEORGHITOAIA Catalina
43	KUBISSA Stefanie	GER		15/12
			MAIER Diana
22	MAIER Diana	GER	15/11
					MARZOCCA Gioia
27	THIELTGES Sabine	GER			15/6
			PRESSMAR Julia
38	PRESSMAR Julia	GER	15/7
				MARZOCCA Gioia
59	FUTADA Noriko	JPN		15/1
			MARZOCCA Gioia
6	MARZOCCA Gioia	ITA	15/6
7	PERRUS Leonore	FRA
			PERRUS Leonore
58	GOTTHARDT Mirjam	GER	15/5
				PERRUS Leonore
39	LEE Shin Mi	KOR		15/9
			ZHANG Ying
26	ZHANG Ying	CHN	15/11
					ZAGUNIS Mariel
23	COSAR Martha	GER			15/9
			BUJDOSO Alexandra
42	BUJDOSO Alexandra	HUN	15/12
				ZAGUNIS Mariel
55	KARPINSKA Katarzyna	POL		15/7
			ZAGUNIS Mariel
10	ZAGUNIS Mariel	USA	15/9
15	VELIKAIA Sophia	RUS
			VELIKAIA Sophia
50	JANZ Nicolett	GER	15/4
				VELIKAIA Sophia
47	NAKAMURA Haruko	JPN		15/7
			EL GUINDOU Maha
18	EL GUINDOU Maha	FRA	15/8
					VELIKAIA Sophia
31	CARRIER Magali	FRA			15/9
			BAZHENOVA Irina
34	BAZHENOVA Irina	RUS	15/8
				BAZHENOVA Irina
63	HERMANN Wiebke	GER		15/11
			NETCHAEVA Elena
2	NETCHAEVA Elena	RUS	15/8