Team USA Wins Overall Medal Count in Costa Rica
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – The United States finished the 2010 Pan American Championships in style. The top-seeded U.S. Men’s Saber Team defeated Canada, 45-41, in the back-and-forth gold medal final. After receiving a bye through the first round, Team USA took care of Argentina, 45-25, and Brazil, 45-28, in the semifinal.
Individually, the U.S. did not place a men’s saber fencer in the final four. But Daryl Homer (Bronx, N.Y.), James Williams (Sacramento, Calif.), Ben Igoe (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Olympic silver medalist Tim Morehouse (Bronx, N.Y.) stepped on the sixth and final day of the event.
The United States finished atop the medal count standings, with six gold medals, two silver medals and seven bronze medals. Canada finished second with ten total medals, including six silver. Cuba amassed seven medals, including four first place finishes.
Further helping the U.S. cause was the bronze medal-winning women’s epee team. Entering the day as the top seed, Team USA received a bye in the first round, defeated Chili, 45-29 in the second round before falling to Cuba, 45-38, in the semifinals.
The team of Francesca Bassa (Houston, Texas), Lindsay Campbell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and sisters Kelley and Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas) defeated Venezuela, 45-37, in the bronze medal match. Cuba would go on to defeat Canada, 41-28, for the gold medal.
The Pan American Championships serve as an individual and team qualifying tournament for the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Up-to-date results can be found at http://fie.ch/.
About U.S. Fencing Association: The United States Fencing Association (USFA) is the recognized NGB for the sport of fencing in the United States. The USFA was founded in 1891 as the Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) by a group of New York fencers seeking independence from the Amateur Athletic Union. The AFLA changed its name to the United States Fencing Association in 1981. The USFA is affiliated with the Féderation Internationale d'Escrime (FIE), the international federation for fencing founded in Paris in 1913. The USFA was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in Pennsylvania in 1964 and in Colorado in 1993 in compliance with the Amateur Sports Act and opened its national office at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. in August of 1982. For more visit www.usfencing.org, www.facebook.com/usfencing or www.twitter.com/usfencing.
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