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Olympic and Paralympic Fencers to Compete for Gold at the January NAC

01/05/2015, 2:00pm CST
By Nicole Jomantas

The Salt Palace was home to the Main Media Center during the 2002 Olympic Games.

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – More than 1,100 athletes from at least 40 states will compete at the USA Fencing January North American Cup in Salt Lake City from Jan. 9-12.

Athletes will fence in four competitions, including Division I, junior and wheelchair individual events and a senior team event. All events will take place in Halls B-E of the Salt Palace. Admission to the tournament is free and open to the public.

The Division I field includes six members of the London Olympic Team: 2012 Olympic team epee bronze medalists Kelley and Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas); foil fencer Nzingha Prescod (Brooklyn, N.Y.); and saber fencers Daryl Homer (Bronx, N.Y.), Jeff Spear (Wynantskill, N.Y.) and 2008 Olympic team silver medalist Tim Morehouse (New York City, N.Y.) 

Three Senior World Team Champions will be in action in Salt Lake City as well. After winning bronze in the team saber competition in 2013, Eliza Stone (Chicago, Ill.) and Ibtihaj Muhammad (Maplewood, N.J.) won gold in 2014. Ben Bratton (New York City, N.Y.) took nearly two years off after winning gold with the men’s epee team at the 2012 World Championships and is now training for the 2016 Olympic Games.

The wheelchair events are highlighted by five Paralympic athletes. Gerard Moreno (Los Angeles, Calif.) fenced at his fourth Games in London while his teammates, Ryan Estep (Florence, Miss.) and Joey Brinson (Florence, Miss.), are aiming to qualify for a second Paralympic team in 2016. Andrea De Mello (New York City, N.Y.), a four-time Paralympian who represented Brazil from 1996-2004 and Team USA in 2008, will be fencing in her first event since 2012. Sydney Paralympian Curtis Lovejoy (College Park, Ga.) won silver at the 2013 Wheelchair Worlds and has competed at six Paralympic Games in swimming and one (2000) in fencing.

Competition schedule is as follows (Note: all times are approximate start times and events run through completion):

Friday, Jan. 9
9:30 a.m.
Division I Men’s Foil
Wheelchair Men’s Epee
Junior Women’s Epee

11:30 a.m.
Junior Men’s Saber

1:30 p.m.
Wheelchair Women’s Epee

2:30 p.m.
Senior Team Women’s Foil

Saturday, Jan. 10
8:30 a.m.
Division I Men’s Epee
Division I Women’s Saber

9:30 a.m.
Wheelchair Men’s Foil

12:30 p.m.
Senior Team Men’s Saber

1:30 p.m.
Wheelchair Women’s Foil

2 p.m.
Junior Women’s Foil

Sunday, Jan. 11
8:30 a.m.
Division I Women’s Epee
Junior Men’s Foil

9:30 a.m.
Senior Team Women’s Saber
Wheelchair Men’s Saber

11:30 a.m.
Division I Men’s Saber

1:30 p.m.
Senior Team Men’s Epee

Monday, Jan. 12
8:30 a.m.
Division I Women’s Foil
Junior Men’s Epee

1:30 p.m.
Senior Team Men’s Foil
Senior Team Women’s Epee
Junior Women’s Saber

Tag(s): News  Daryl Homer  Courtney Hurley  Kelley Hurley  Jeff Spear  Nzingha Prescod  Curtis Lovejoy