Mariel Zagunis

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Mariel Zagunis
Medal record
Representing  United States
Women's Fencing
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens Individual Sabre
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing Individual Sabre
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing Team Sabre
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2005 Leipzig, Germany Team Sabre
Silver medal – second place 2004 New York, United States Team Sabre
Silver medal – second place 2006 Turin, Italy Individual Sabre
Silver medal – second place 2006 Turin, Italy Team Sabre

Mariel Leigh Zagunis (born March 3, 1985 in Beaverton, Oregon) is an American Olympic sabre fencer, of Lithuanian heritage.[1] She won the gold medals in the individual sabre at the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Biography

Zagunis is the daughter of Olympians. Her parents, Robert and Cathy Zagunis, were collegiate rowers, at Oregon State University and Connecticut College, respectively, before competing with the U.S. rowing team at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Her older brother Marten and younger brother Merrick also fence sabre.

She was the first American fencer to hold the Jr. World Cup Champion title (2002), and she did so three years in a row (2002, 2003, 2004). She is the youngest fencer ever to win the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE) World Championship gold, and the youngest fencer to win three FIE medals in one season. Zagunis won the FIE over-all medal three years in a row. She was the first fencer in the history of the sport to hold more than two World Champion titles in one season (2001: Cadet, Jr. and Jr. Team titles).

She entered the University of Notre Dame in 2004 on an athletic scholarship.

In October 2005, Zagunis won her seventh World Champion title at the Leipzig, Germany World Championships, in the women's team event. A year later at the 2006 World Fencing Championships she won the silver, after losing the final to Rebecca Ward. She is the second U.S. fencer in history to have won the World Cup total-points Title from the FIE.

2004 Athens Olympics

Main article: Fencing at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Women's sabre

The Women's Sabre event was being contested for the first time at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Zagunis did not directly qualify to fence in the tournament. However, Nigeria decided not to send their qualifying fencer to the tournament, and as the next highest seeded fencer in the world, Zagunis was selected to represent the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics.[2]

She received one of eight byes offered in the first round, entering the tournament in the Round of 16, where she defeated Japanese fencer Madoka Hisagae, 15-13. In the quarterfinals, she defeated a fencer from Azerbaijan, Elena Jemayeva, 15-11. In the semifinals, Zagunis clinched at least a silver medal by defeating Romania's Catalina Gheorghitoaia, 15-10.[3]

Zagunis faced Chinese fencer Xue Tan in the finals, and became the first American to win an Olympic fencing gold medal in 100 years, defeating her 15-9.[4][5]

2008 Beijing Olympics

Main article: Fencing at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Women's sabre
Main article: Fencing at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Women's team sabre

Zagunis entered the 2008 Summer Olympics seeded sixth.[6] She received a bye in the first round, entering the tournament when there were 32 fencers remaining. She trailed at the break in her round of 32 match against Sandra Sassine 8-7, but scored eight of the last ten touches to win 15-10. She then defeated Bogna Jozwiak 15-13 in the Round of 16.

She beat Bao Yingying in the quarterfinals, 15-9. Zagunis then faced her training partner from the Oregon Fencing Alliance, Rebecca Ward, in the semifinals and defeated her 15-11.

In the gold medal match, Zagunis faced the other top seed in the tournament, Sada Jacobson, and won, 15-8.

In the women's sabre team event, the U.S. was heavily favored to win.[7][8] Zagunis teamed up with Jacobson and Ward to defeat the South African team in the quarterfinals, 45-8.[9]

In the Semifinals, they fenced the team from the Ukraine. The Ukranian side, seeded fifth in the tournament, defeated the favored U.S. team 45-39, denying them a gold medal, and placing them in the bronze medal bout against France.[10]

The U.S. team rebounded from their semifinal loss by defeating the French team 45-38 for the bronze medal.[11]

References

  1. ^ http://indystar.gannettonline.com/gns/olympics/20040817-50558.html
  2. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/beijing/fight/2008-08-09-womens-saber_N.htm
  3. ^ http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/athens2004/fencing/results?day=17
  4. ^ http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/athens2004/fencing/results?day=17
  5. ^ http://fencing.teamusa.org/athlete/athlete/534
  6. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/beijing/fight/2008-08-09-womens-saber_N.htm
  7. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/feedarticle/7708520
  8. ^ http://www.courant.com/sports/other/hc-jeffcol0810.artaug10,0,4601492.column?page=2
  9. ^ http://www.nbcolympics.com/fencing/resultsandschedules/rsc=FEW403300/index.html
  10. ^ http://www.nbcolympics.com/fencing/resultsandschedules/rsc=FEW403200/index.html
  11. ^ http://www.nbcolympics.com/fencing/resultsandschedules/rsc=FEW403100/index.html

External links

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