USA Fencing

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – With two tournaments left to qualify for the 2012 Junior World Championships, Margaret McDonald (Atlanta, Ga.) took a gamble – rather than compete at the Junior Olympic Fencing Championships in Salt Lake City on Sunday, McDonald entered the Budapest Junior World Cup in Hungary with the goal of both securing her slot on the team and gaining international experience.

The risk paid off for the 17-year-old as McDonald when she won her second Junior World Cup medal ever – a silver that follows her silver medal finish two weeks ago at the Sunstate Mechanical Junior World Cup in Phoenix.

McDonald was one of three U.S. athletes competing in the event as her Nellya Fencers teammates Skyla Powers (Atlanta, Ga.) and Lena Johnson (Peachtree City, Ga.) also were aiming for gold. Powers, a top-10 finisher at both the Junior and Cadet Worlds last year, had already earned enough points to qualify for both teams again, but Johnson was vying for points to move up in both the cadet and junior rankings for a possible berth on the team.

All three athletes advanced to the table of 16, but Powers placed ninth after a 15-8 loss to Angelika Wator (POL) and Johnson lost to eventual gold medalist Saoussen Boudiaf (FRA), 15-8 and finished 15^th overall.

McDonald won her table of 16 bout against Viktoria Kuybark (RUS), 15-12.

In the quarter-finals, McDonald won her bout against Wator, 15-14.

After a 15-12 win over Kenza Boudad (FRA), McDonald advanced to the finals where she lost the bout to Boudiaf, 15-4.

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

Budapest Junior Saber World Cup
1. Saoussen Boudiaf (FRA)
2. Margaret McDonald (Atlanta, Ga.)
3. Kenza Boudad (FRA)
3. Benedetta Baldini (ITA)
5. Tatiana Sukhova (RUS)
6. Angelika Wator (POL)
7. Caterina Navarria (ITA)
8. Renta Katona (HUN)

9. Skyla Powers (Atlanta, Ga.)
15. Lena Johnson (Peachtree City, Ga.)