USA Fencing

Chamley-Watson Earns Silver on Second Day of PanAms

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – The golden era for Mariel Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore.) continued on day two at the 2010 Pan American Championships in San Jose, Costa Rica. The two-time Olympic gold medalist won the women’s saber final over Sandra Sassine of Canada. It was her second straight Pan American title and it follows up her gold medal at the World Cup in New York City. In both San Jose and New York, Zagunis knocked out teammate Ibtihaj Muhammad (Maplewood, N.J.) en route to the final. 

Muhammad and Dagmara Wozniak (Avenel, N.J.) finished tied for third in women’s saber, adding two bronze medals to the U.S. medal count. Daria Schneider (Berkeley, Calif.) placed 11th.

Four U.S. fencers finished in the top six of the men’s foil competition. Miles Chamley-Watson (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.) won the silver and bronze medals, respectively. Chamley-Watson defeated Massialas, who heads to Singapore to compete in the Youth Olympic Games, in the semifinals. Chamley-Watson also knocked Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif.), who finished in fifth place. Chamley-Watson was eventually bested by Antonio Leal of Venezuela. Kurt Getz (Rye, N.Y.) placed sixth.

Heading into day three, U.S. fencers have amassed two gold medals, one silver and three bronze. Wednesday’s slate features men’s saber and women’s epee. Olympic silver medalist Tim Morehouse (Bronx, N.Y.) and sisters Kelley and Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas) highlight the U.S. fencers competing Wednesday. Up-to-date results can be found at http://fie.ch/.

The Pan American Championships continue through Saturday. The Championships serve as an individual and team qualifying tournament for the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.

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.