USA Fencing

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – After injuries kept him out of the medal rounds at the London Olympic Games, two-time Olympian Soren Thomspon (New York City, N.Y.) returned to international competition for the first time since August on Saturday when he and 2012 National Champion Alexander Tsinis (Little Neck, N.Y.) finished in the top 32 at the Doha Epee Grand Prix.

Thompson entered the event as a 12^th seed and was exempt from the preliminary rounds of competition on Friday while Tsinis advanced through the pools and preliminary table of 64 for the opportunity to fence in the table of 64 on Saturday.

Thompson opened with a 15-12 victory over Anatoliy Herey (UKR), but finished 19^th after a 15-4 loss to Alexandre Blaszyck (FRA).

Tsinis defeated fifth seed Elmir Alimzhanov (KAZ), 15-8, in the table of 64 and lost his next bout to Martin Schmitt (GER), 15-6, to finish 32^nd overall – the second top-32 World Cup finish of Tsinis’s career.

Click here for complete results.

Top eight and U.S. results are as follows, including athletes who did not advance out of the preliminary rounds on Friday:

Doha Epee Grand Prix
1. Gabor Boczko (HUN)
2. Anton Avdeev (RUS)
3. Nikolai Novosjolov
3. Alexandre Blaszyck (FRA)
5. Ruben Limardo (VEN)
6. Max Heinzer (SUI)
7. Fabian Kauter (SUI)
8. Diego Confalonieri (ITA)

19. Soren Thompson (New York City, N.Y.)
32. Alexander Tsinis (Little Neck, N.Y.)
75. Allen Hadzic (New York City, N.Y.)
76. Jimmy Moody (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
84. Adam Watson (Richford, Vt.)
96. Adam Rodney (New York City, N.Y.)
107. Rob Rhea (San Francisco, Calif.)
111. Dwight Smith (Elmont, N.J.)