USA Fencing

 

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Just a year after qualifying for his first Veteran World Championships, 52-year-old Will Milne (Redwood City, Calif.) reached his goal of standing on the top of the podium in the men’s 50-59 saber event in Krems, Austria on Thursday.

“Winning is an incredible feeling,” Milne said. “The crowd was pretty big and I wanted to show some good solid fencing.”

Milne entered the direct elimination tables as the top seed in the 45-man event after going undefeated in the pools.

After a bye into the table of 32, Milne defeated Paul Abrahams (GBR), 10-5.

Milne won his next bout against Jerome Poupart (FRA), 10-7, and advanced as one of three Americans in the quarter-finals.

Milne secured his first Veteran World medal after his next win over Barry Caulter (GBR), 10-8.

In the semifinals, Milne edged Bernd Brock (GER) by a single touch for a 10-9 win.

“My goal was the final bout and I was nervous and fencing too simple. The score was 9-9 and honestly I got lucky and closed him out with one light for the win,” Milne said.

In the gold medal final, Konstantin Volkov (RUS) took a 3-0 lead, but Milne regrouped to cut the Russian’s lead to 5-3 at the break.

“I dropped the first three touches of the bout in short order, but I calmed down a bit and brought it back,” Milne said.

In the second half, Milne held Volkov to one touch as he closed out the bout, 10-6.

“My fencing was tentative in the first half; I was being very cautious. At the break, Coach [Vladimir] Nazlymov told me to go after him hard and take some risks. After the break, I gave up the first touch and then took the next seven to put it away,” Milne said.

Milne credited Team Captain Vladimir Nazlymov (Dublin, Ohio) with helping to secure the gold.

“Coach Nazlymov was a huge help. His encouragement and expertise was vital for me. I don't think I would have made it out of the round of eight without him. Thank you to USFA for sending him along!” Milne said.

Although he placed 10^th at the 2011 Veteran Worlds, Milne said he came to Austria focused on improving on his previous result.

“Last year my fencing was sloppy and unfocused. My coach, Jay Choi, worked with me in both areas and I feel it made the difference,” Milne said.

Two of Milne’s teammates finished in the top eight of the 50-59 men’s saber event. First-time Veteran World Team member Val Kizik (Indianapolis, Ind.) earned a bye into the table of 32 and defeated both of his next two opponents – Ismail Pashapour-Alamdari (AUT) and Laszlo Takacsy (HUN) – by scores of 10-7. Kizik placed seventh overall after a 10-9 loss to Volkov in the quarters.

A silver medalist at the 2010 Veteran Worlds, Don Anthony Jr. (Columbus, Ohio) came to Austria as a member of his second veteran team and finished the pools ranked 15^th after a 3-2 result.

Anthony earned a bye into the table of 32 where he defeated Ruggero Busetti (ITA), 10-8.

In a rematch of their 2010 gold medal bout, Anthony defeated Vittorio Carrara (ITA), 10-9, to advance to the quarter-finals. Anthony lost his next match, 10-7, to Thierry Jamgotchian (FRA) and finished the day in eighth place.

Competing in the women’s 60-69 foil event, 2007 Veteran World medalist Judith Offerle (Winnetka, Ill.) earned a bye into the table of 16 where she defeated teammate Deborah Theriault (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 5-4.

Competing as the only American in the quarter-finals, Offerle upset eight-time Veteran World Champion Marja-Liisa Tuulikki Someroja (FIN), 10-9.

After a 4-3 victory in the semifinals over Liubov Mayorova (RUS), Offerle lost a 9-3 final bout against nine-time Veteran World medalist Clare Halsted (GBR).

Offerle will have less than 24 hours to recover from her silver medal finish before returning to the strip on Friday for a chance at a second medal in the 60-69 saber event.

Also competing in the 60-69 foil were three-time Veteran World Team members Madelon Rosenfeld (New York City, N.Y.) and Joanne Stevens (New York City, N.Y.) who were each eliminated in the table of 16.

Stevens lost to four-time Veteran World medalist Yumiko Tanaka (JPN), 10-5, and Rosenfeld dropped her bout to 2001 Veteran World medalist Margaret Myers (GBR), 10-4.

Seventy-one-year-old Patricia Bedrosian (Malibu, Calif.) came to Krems with 13 past Veteran World Teams to her credit.

On Thursday, Bedrosian won her second bronze medal at the Veteran Worlds when she finished third in the +70 women’s epee event.

Seeded second after the pools, Bedrosian earned a bye into the quarter-finals where she defeated Motoko Kitami (JPN), 5-3.

In the semifinals, Bedrosian met Marie Chantal Demaille (FRA) who won the bout, 10-4, and went on to earn her 11^th Veteran World title.

Bettie Graham (Washington, D.C.) won bronze in this event in 2011, but Kitami defeated her, 10-7, in the table of 16.   

Three-time Veteran World Team member Diane Reckling (White Plains, N.Y.) lost to two-time Veteran World medalist Marianne Hempelmann (GER), 10-7, in the table of 16.

Joseph Biebel (Bayside, Wis.) fell just one bout win short of earning his fourth Veteran World medal when he placed fifth in the men’s 60-69 foil event.

Biebel was seeded second after the pools and defeated his teammate, Rinaldo Campana (McLean, Va.), 10-3, in the table of 16.

In the quarter-finals, Biebel lost to Fabrizio Filippi (ITA), 10-7. Biebel finished in fifth place and Filippi went on to win his third Veteran World bronze.

Eight-time Veteran World medalist Ray Sexton III (Round Rock, Texas) won his opening bout against Lev Shitov (RUS), 10-4, in the table of 32. In the next round, Sexton lost to three-time Veteran World medalist Brian Causton (GBR), 10-7.

A 2005 Veteran World medalist, Joseph Streb (Columbus, Ohio) won his table of 32 bout against Anatole Richter (AUT), 9-4, but lost to Paul Lowen (GBR), 9-6, in the table of 16.

Competition continues on Friday with the following events being contested:

Veteran Men’s 50-59 Epee
Walter Dragonetti (Elyria, Ohio), 2009 Veteran World Champion and three-time medalist
Rick Watrall (Mahwah, N.J.)
Lou Mariani (Santa Clara, Calif.)
Sean Ameli (Las Vegas, Nev.)

Veteran Women’s 50-59 Epee
Janice Midgley (Tinton Falls, N.J.)
Valerie Asher (Bethesda, Md.)
Marianne Bosco (Harvest, Ala.), 2010 Veteran World bronze medalist
Ellen Finnegan (West Roxbury, Mass.)

Veteran Men’s 60-69 Foil
Joseph Biebel (Bayside, Wis.), 2003 Veteran World Champion and three-time medalist
Joseph Streb (Columbus, Ohio), 2005 Veteran World bronze medalist
Rinaldo Campana (McLean, Va.)
Ray Sexton III (Round Rock, Texas), 1999 Veteran World Champion and eight-time medalist

Veteran Women’s +70 Saber
Ellen O’Leary (Decatur, Ga.), six-time Veteran World medalist
Louisa Felty (Louisville, Ky.), 2010 Veteran World Champion and two-time medalist
Sherry Green (Portland, Ore.)
Una Jackson (Hilton Head, S.C.)

Click here to view complete results.

Top eight and U.S. results are as follows:

Men’s 50-59 Saber
1. William Milne (Redwood City, Calif.)
2. Konstantin Volkov (RUS)
3. Bernd Brock (GER)
3. Thierry Jamgotchian (FRA)
5. Alexander Saygin (RUS)
6. Barry Caulter (GBR)
7. Val Kizik (Indianapolis, Ind.)
8. Donald Anthony Jr. (Columbus, Ohio)

31. Dmitri Kopylov (Roseland, N.J.)

Women’s 60-69 Foil
1. Clare Halsted (GBR)
2. Judith Offerle (Winnetka, Ill.)
3. Liubov Mayorova (RUS)
3. Antoinette Willard (FRA)
5. Marja-Liisa Tuulikki Someroja (FIN)
6. Yumiko Tanaka (JPN)
7. Margaret Myers (GBR)
8. Marigret D’Haese (GER)

11. Madelon Rosenfeld (New York City, N.Y.)
12. Joanne Stevens (New York City, N.Y.)
13. Deborah Theriault (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

Men’s 60-69 Foil
1. Kenichi Hinoshita (JPN)
2. Graham Paul (GBR)
3. Fabrizio Filippi (ITA)
3. Eiichi Ide (JPN)
5. Joseph Biebel (Bayside, Wis.)
6. Paul Lowen (GBR)
7. Gert Buerckholdt (GER)
8. Brian Causton (GBR)

9. Ray Sexton III (Round Rock, Texas)
13. Joseph Streb (Columbus, Ohio)
15. Rinaldo Campana (McLean, Va.)

Women’s +70 Epee
1. Marie Chantal Demaille (FRA)
2. Janet Cooksey (GBR)
3. Patricia Bedrosian (Malibu, Calif.)
3. Anne-Marie Richter (GER)
5. Brigitte Greunke (GER)
6. Marianne Hempelmann (GER)
7. Sylvia Brown (GBR)
8. Motoko Kitami (JPN)

9. Bettie Graham (Washington, D.C.)
13. Diane Reckling (White Plains, N.Y.)