(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Three members of Team USA competed in the table of 64 on Saturday at the Tallinn World Cup in Estonia.
Ranked 12th in the world, Soren Thompson (New York City, N.Y.) was exempt from pool competition on Friday and advanced directly to the table of 64 where he finished 38th after a 15-8 loss to Alfredo Rota (ITA).
Thompson’s 2004 Olympic teammate Cody Mattern (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and four-time Senior World Team member Ben Bratton (New York City, N.Y.) both qualified for the table of 64 after winning bouts in the preliminary tables on Friday.
On Saturday, Bratton lost to Peter Somfai (HUN), 15-12, in the table of 64 and finished in 48th place.
Mattern placed 56th after a 12-11 loss to Elmir Alimzhanov (KAZ) who went on to win bronze.
The tournament is the ninth of 10 individual Olympic qualifying events for men’s epee. The final qualifier will be held at the Paris World Cup from March 16-17.
Thompson’s finish allowed him to maintain a position among the top 12 in the Adjusted Olympic Rankings. In men’s epee, each nation can qualify a maximum of two fencers to compete in the Games. The top 12 athletes in the AOR will qualify for the Games automatically and the top two athletes from each zone that are ranked outside of the top 12 will earn berths to the Games.
Two-time Olympian Seth Kelsey (Colorado Springs, Colo.) lost in the preliminary table of 64 on Friday to Jose Luis Abajo (ESP), 13-12, and finished in 89th place, but he held onto his #2 qualifying position in the Americas Zone.
Competition continues on Sunday with the team event in which Thompson, Mattern, Kelsey and Jimmy Moody (Colorado Springs, Colo.) will attempt to win their second World Cup medal of the season.
Click here to view complete results.
Top eight and U.S. results are as follows:
Tallinn Individual World Cup
1. Nikolai Novosjolov (EST)
2. Gauthier Grumier (FRA)
3. Elmir Alimzhanov (KAZ)
3. Paolo Pizzo (ITA)
5. Fabian Kauter (SUI)
6. Geza Imre (HUN)
7. Daniel Jerent (FRA)
8. Silvio Fernandez (VEN)
38. Soren Thompson (New York City, N.Y.)
48. Ben Bratton (New York City, N.Y.)
56. Cody Mattern (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
80. Adam Watson (Richford, Vt.)
85. Andras Horanyi (Boulder, Colo.)
89. Seth Kelsey (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
109. Jimmy Moody (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
131. Dwight Smith (Elmont, N.Y.)
155. Jason Pryor (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
172. Kyle Wolfson (Beaverton, Ore.)
220. Alexander Tsinis (Little Neck, N.Y.)
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