Miles Chamley-Watson now ranked 2nd in the world.

Erwann le Pechoux (left) vs. Luca Simoncelli. Photo escrime-ffe.fr

Erwan le Pechoux (FRA) dominated Luca Simoncelli (ITA) 15-5 in the final match of the Shanghai men’s foil grand prix.  Though Italy was denied the gold medal at the event, they took up the remaining podium spots as Alessio Foconi (ITA) and Andrea Cassara (ITA) tied for 3rd.

World #4 Valerio Aspromonte (ITA) was shocked by David Willette (USA) in a 15-14 match in the round of 64.  Willette went on to defeat Maor Hatoel (ISR) in the round of 32.  In the 16 Willette drew Simoncelli and was up at one point 10-8.  He was unable to hold onto the lead and Simoncelli won the bout 15-12.

All of the remaining US fencers lost their bouts in the round of 64.  Though he only took 33rd at this event, Miles Chamley-Watson inched up in the world rankings to #2.  The performances by top-10 fencers Andrea Cassara (ITA), Yuki Ota (JPN) and Peter Joppich (GER) were worse than their results from last year’s Shanghai event, so all lost ground in the world rankings.  Aspromonte fell to 11th.

David Willette earned a top-16 in Shanghai. Photo courtesy Penn State

Final Results (Top-8 + US Finishes): Shanghai Men’s Foil World Cup

Alexander Massialas. Photo S.Timacheff/FencingPhotos

Alexander Massialas (USA) took 3rd place at the 2011 SK Trophée Séoul Men’s Foil World Cup.  Massialas lost to eventual champion Andrea Baldini (ITA).  In the finals Baldini defeated Richard Kruse (GBR) 15-14.  In their semi-final matches Kruse beat Artem Sedov (RUS) 15-5 and Baldini won 15-6 over Massialas.

On the way to his podium finish Massialas defeated three time world champion Peter Joppich (GER) 15-9.  He had a close call in the top-32 against Valerio Aspromonte (ITA).  Massialas was down 11-6 to start the 3rd period but brought the match back to win 15-14.

“This is his first major podium finish in a Senior Men’s Foil World Cup,” said Greg Massialas, “(Alex) was also the youngest to make the podium in this event over the many years of this World Cup.”

Miles Chamley-Watson placed 10th with victories against Dmitri Riginie (RUS) 15-10 and a close bout with Lorenzo Nista (ITA) 15-14.  Chamley-Watson lost to Laurence Halsted (GBR) 15-11 in the top-16.

The other US fencers all lost their matches in the round of 64.

Artem Sedov (RUS) made several notable upsets at the event with his top-32 victory over Andrea Cassara (ITA) 15-10.  Yuki Ota (JPN) also failed to make the 8 after losing 15-13 to Liangliang Zhang (CHN) in the round of 16, and #1 seed Sheng Lei (CHN) lost to teammate Liangcai Huang (CHN) 15-12 in the 16.

The top 8 featured two Chinese fencers, two British fencers and representatives from Korea, the United States, Italy, and Russia.  This type of multi-region final has been the type of global participation that the FIE has strived for since the early 90s.

The men’s foilists stay in Seoul for the team event tomorrow.  The US is seeded 7th.

SK Trophy Seoul: Final Results (Top 8 plus US Fencers)  [Top-64 DE Bracket]

Baldini and Cassara topped the medal stand. Photo: http://www.federscherma.it/

Andrea Baldini (ITA) won his 2nd straight world cup to tie Sheng Lei (CHN) atop the FIE World Rankings by winning the St. Petersburg Grand Prix.  Baldini defeated teammate Andrea Cassara (ITA) in the final match, 14-13.  “Baldini and Cassarà are back at their level,” said Stefano Cerioni, foil CT. “They are in great shape and most importantly they are expressing a high class of fencing.”

Miles Chamley-Watson (USA) took 9th place and Race Imboden (USA) took 16th.  The finish drops Chamley-Watson from the #2 FIE World Rank to #6.

In the quarterfinal Baldini defeated Peter Joppich (GER) 15-8 and in the semifinal he beat the young Egyptian fencer, El Sayed, 15-9.

From the Italian site: “This is the payoff of a thousand sacrifices,” said an euphoric Baldini after the awards ceremony. “It was a great day, I fenced well and had plenty of positive feelings. But there is always room for improvement so we must keep on working. Never let your guard down!”

In the top-64, Race Imboden continued a US fencing trend by knocking out Valerio Aspromonte (ITA).  Aspromonte was ranked 4th in the world earlier this month.  In the previous two world cups, Aspromonte was upset 15-14 by Alexander Massialas (Seoul Foil World Cup) and David Willette (Shanghai Grand Prix).

Imboden went on to the top 16 where he lost to Richard Kruse (GBR) 15-5.  Chamley-Watson went out in the 16 to Dmitri Rigine (RUS) 15-11.

The other US fencers to make the top-64 lost in the first round: Willette lost to Alexey Khovansk (RUS) and Meinhardt was defeated by Roland Schlosser (AUT).

St. Petersburg Men’s Foil Results (Top 8 + US Finishes)

The Pan American Zonal Championships

The US fencers swept medals in the Men’s Foil and Women’s Epee events as Race Imboden and Kelley Hurley won gold in their events at the 2011 Pan-American Zonal Fencing Championships.

Alex Massialas took the silver and Gerek Meinhardt the bronze in men’s foil.  Daniel Gomez (MEX) also tied for bronze.

In the semi-final bout, Gerek Meinhardt started out strong against Alex Massialas, building up a 7-2 lead.  Massialas adjusted to the timing of Meinhardt’s attacks and launched several successful counter-attacks which lead to a 6-0 run to gain an 8-7 lead.  Meinhardt responded with a 3-0 run of his own and then the fencers traded touches to close the first period with Meinhardt up 12-11.  Massialas started the second period strong with a 2-0 run and closed the bout out 15-13.

In the other semi-final bout Race Imboden was simply dominating.  He built up a 6-1 lead on Gomez and never let up the pressure, building to a 12-4 lead at the end of the first period.  Gomez used the minute break well and was able to go on a small run, but Imboden’s lead was insurmountable.  Even though Gomez outscored Imboden 6-3 in the second period, three touches were all that Race needed to close the bout, 15-10.

The Imboden-Massialas final was fenced before a standing-room only crowd at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center.  Imboden was on early in the bout building a 4-0 lead.  Massialas responded, chipping away at the lead to bring the bout within one touch as the fencers went into the minute break with Imboden up 9-8.  In the second period, Imboden imposed his will on the match, going 6-0 to win 15-8.

During the day, the only elimination losses by the US team were from team members.  In the quarter-finals Miles Chamley-Watson lost to Race Imboden, giving the US team 4 of the top 8 and 3 of the top 4.

In women’s epee, the story was much the same with a quater-final bout between Maya Lawrence and Courtney Hurley to determine who would go into the top-4.  The final four featured three Americans: Courtney Hurley, Kelley Hurley, and Lindsay Campbell plus Caterin Bravo-Aranguiz (CHI).

Courtney Hurley dominated the first semi-final opening up a 5-3 lead that included two double-touches.  Bravo-Aranguiz (CHI) fought back to tie the score at 6 but then was unable to keep up with Hurley as she build a 13-10 lead going into the second period.  After a double touch, Hurley finished off the bout to win 15-11.

In the second semi-final Lindsay Campbell won the first touch and proceeded to build a 5-2 lead at the end of the first period.  In the second period the fencers picked up the pace as Hurley pressed forward more and forcing ties at 7 through 11.  The third period was all Hurley’s as she scored two points to go up 13-11 and then closed the bout out with two double-touches to win 15-13.

The all-Hurley final started with Kelley building a 3-1 lead over Courtney.  The sisters fenced at a fast pace, but Kelley would score two to three touches for every point that Courtney put on the board and ended the first period up 13-8.  Courtney was able to put some more points on the board in the second period, but the lead was too great and Kelley won the bout 15-12.

These events provide valuable individual points for FIE rankings.  Because both Women’s Team Epee and Men’s Team Foil will be contested at the London Olympics, the team events later this week are far more important to the USA Fencing’s Olympic plans.  What the results from today did were to show that the US fencers are at a level to win those head-to-head match ups against the other countries and to establish their dominance in those match-ups heading into the team events.

Full Results: Men’s Individual Foil

Full Results: Women’s Individual Epee

2011 World University Games are set for Shenzhen, China

This weekend marks the start of the fencing competitions at the 2011 Universiade, commonly referred to as the World University Games.  The Universiade is held every four years in the year preceding the Summer Olympic Games.

Fencing events at the 2011 Universiade will include 12 events: individual and team versions of men’s and women’s epee, foil, and sabre.

The United States is sending a full contingent of 24 fencers selected based on eligibility and results from Division I NAC events and World Cup/World Championship events.  NCAA results play no part in the selection for this event.

Penn State University was chosen to lead the delegation for the US.  The US Coaching staff will be led by Emmanuil Kaidanov and includes Wes Glon, Victor Svatenko, and Gia Abashidze.

Team USA will send 24 athletes to the 2011 World University Games.:

Men’s Epee
Nick Vomero – St. John’s University
Clifford Fishler – University of Pennsylvania
Daniel Tafoya – Ohio State University
Adam Watson – St. John’s University

Men’s Foil
Miles Chamley-Watson – Penn State University
David Willette – Penn State University
Ariel DeSmet – University of Notre Dame
Turner Caldwell – Stanford University

Men’s Saber
Aleksander Ochocki – Penn State University
Jeff Spear – Columbia University
Daniel Bak – Penn State University
Adrian Bak – Penn State University

Women’s Epee
Kelley Hurley – University of Notre Dame
Courtney Hurley – University of Notre Dame
Susie Scanlan – Princeton University
Holly Buechel – City College of New York

Women’s Foil
Doris Willette – Penn State University
Ambika Singh – Princeton University
Hayley Reese – University of Notre Dame
Eve Levin – Princeton University

Women’s Saber
Lian Osier – University of Notre Dame
Nicole Glon – Penn State University
Faziah Muhammad – New Jersey Institute of Technology
Emily Cheng – Ohio State University

Fencing Masters is back for 2012

NEW YORK — En garde!  New York City is getting ready to host the largest U.S. spectator fencing tournament leading up to the Olympic Games this summer in London. Fencing Masters: Kick-Off to London 2012 will feature some of the sport’s biggest names including two-time Olympic gold medalist Mariel Zagunis and World bronze medalist Lee Kiefer, as they take on top contenders from around the world in a tune-up event for London.

Tickets go on sale today and can be purchased at www.fencingmastersnyc.com.

Fencing Masters, the only regularly televised fencing competition in the United States, will be held June 26 in the Hammerstein Ballroom. The inaugural Fencing Masters attracted more than 1,800 spectators and was televised on SportsNet NY. Sponsorship dollars and ticket sales provided direct support for U.S. Olympic hopefuls.

The event will be done in complete New York style, featuring several amazing innovations to bring a night of enjoyment for those who are familiar to sport as well as for newcomers. Among the special features of the event are: large-screen instant replay, mask cams to bring the crowd inside the action, specially designed uniforms and a stage created by a Broadway set designer.

An initial six-weapon team has been announced, representing all three disciples of fencing: foil, epee and saber, with both the men and women competing together. A second U.S. team of London-bound American athletes will be announced in the coming months.

Among the headliners is Mariel Zagunis, a two-time Olympic Champion in women’s saber who is certain to be among America’s top medal hopes again this summer in London.

“The Fencing Masters is a great chance for us to show the spirit and skill of the U.S. team on our own soil before we leave for the London Games,” Zagunis said. “I’m really looking forward to competing with some of the world’s best fencers. Hopefully people from all around the country will support us and join in our enthusiasm for fencing!”

In women’s foil, Lee Kiefer will compete in the foil discipline, as will British-born U.S. citizen and New York City resident Miles Chamley-Watson, who achieved a No. 2 world ranking at the age of 20. Rounding out the initial team are New York Native saber-fencer Daryl Homer, who placed 15th at the 2010 World Championships, U.S. National women’s Epee Champion Courtney Hurley and 2004 Olympian Soren Thompson.

The format will be a team points relay with two U.S. teams of London bound athletes competing, along with an additional US team of Future Stars who will earn their spots in qualifying tournaments from around the country.   Two international squads of all-stars, whose line-ups will be announced in the coming months, will challenge the US teams for the Fencing Masters trophy.

“One of the goals I set after our Olympic team’s success play in Beijing was to help grow fencing in the United States while supporting our athletes and bringing the sport into the mainstream.  The sport is amazing to watch and I’m excited that more people in the US will be able to experience its beauty, grace and athleticism before London,” said Fencing Masters founder and 2008 Olympic silver medalist Tim Morehouse, who is vying for a spot on the U.S. team in London.

Proceeds from the event will support the Fencing-in-the-Schools program, which also was created by Morehouse to help start fencing programs in disadvantaged communities and which will be launched in the 2012-2013 calendar school year. In addition, proceeds also will be used to provide grants to help support the Olympic dreams of the U.S team going to London. The inaugural Fencing Masters provided $25,000 in grants to Olympic hopefuls.

The event is being produced by WCMG Events in partnership with the sport’s national governing body USA Fencing. Nike Fencing was named as an initial sponsor for the event with additional sponsor-related announcements coming in the upcoming months.

Holly Buechel created this video for the New York Athletic Club’s Olympian party which celebrates the 2012 Olympians and the 2012 World Championship Men’s Epee Team and bronze medal Women’s Saber Team.

The video highlights the season for the US Men’s Epee and Women’s Saber teams as well as some of the breakout stars of the season from US Fencing.

Miles Chamley-Watson Photo courtesy Penn State University

8 Points. 

After a full year of competition and over 5,000 points earned, that is the amount of points that separated being on the Olympic team and being the replacement athlete.  Fencing.net caught up with Miles hours after the announcement of the Olympic team in Virginia Beach, VA

Miles: It feels incredible now that I know that I am a member of the Olympic team.  All stress is gone now that I know that I am a US Olympian!  It was an extremely stressful year!

It was one heck of a roller coaster ride to get here!

Miles: It was real hard knowing that you had done well over the season and then start seeing your results decline.  It was almost like seeing it slip away through your fingers.  You see some chances here and there throughout the year that you could have capitalized on, but didn’t.  You can’t imagine the stress!

Also, Garek is a great friend and it sucks that I had to fight him to get that spot.  If I had finished 7th or 8th and he won, then our roles would have flipped.  It’s just crazy how close things were!  There was less than 10 points after all of the thousands that were possible!

What type of extra training did you do this year?

Miles: I took my senior year off at Penn State so I could train for the Olympics.  I’ll be going back to school in the fall and hopefully I’ll have a couple of medals in tow!  Woo Hoo!

When I looked at things, I needed to get rid of all of the distractions to train because Penn State are full of distractions!  HA!

My coaching staff, parents, and family have been helping out so much!  You know it takes a lot of effort to accomplish something like this.  It has been great that they have been soooo supportive throughout this whole time of the ups and downs.

Miles Chamley-Watson (USA) fencing for a medal in Shanghai. Photo S.Timacheff / FencingPhotos.com

What type of training did you do?  More world cups or training around the world?

Miles: I took time to train one-on-one more with my coach Simon Gershon.  I would also fence with Race Imboden and Jed [ed. note. Dupree] and did we did some training camps in Italy.  That was immensely helpful.  It was good to branch out a bit and fence more at different places.

What are you going to do now that you know that you are on the Olympic team?

Miles: I’m going to take a day off so I can relax and enjoy the moment and then I am back to training again.  I am getting ready for Japan’s world cup and the other world cups leading to the Olympics.  There is still a lot more fencing left.

What type of things are you doing to train?

Miles: Well, typically I train five to six days a week with drills and bouting and stuff like that.  I do a lot of lessons and I do some intensive stretching a couple times a week.   I try and do a few fun things during the week, but most of the time it really is full time training.

What was it like knowing that you were ranked #2 in the world last year?

Miles: That was around Feb of 2011 and then at the end of the season, I finished up at #4.  When I was going into Zonals in Reno, I was #2 in the world.  I was like I could win this!  I was really pumped up about this, but when I went out in the quarter finals, I really started second guessing myself.   It was really frustrating and that is when self-doubt really started to creep in.

So what was it like after Zonals?

Miles: It was like, “Oh, this really stinks!”  and I really had to think what I am going to do next?   Thankfully, my support system rallied around me and picked me up and got me going again.  I really couldn’t have done it without them.

Any last things?

Miles: Again, thanks to my family and friends, Simon, and God!  I’m excited about this!

US fencers look to continue their winning ways in Paris

A young and unified team, the US Men’s Foil squad looks to build on their success from 2012 and mature into contenders for the 2016 Gold.

As the 2013 Senior World Cup season opens, the United States Men’s Foil team is gearing up to make their mark in the shifting landscape of international foil.

At #4 in the world, the U.S. men enter 2013 with their highest-ever team ranking.  World #9 Race Imboden and world #10 Alexander Massialas will lead Team USA as they open the international season at the CIP in Paris, France on January 25th.  Imboden won a bronze medal at the Paris event last season, kicking off a strong international campaign that he capped with a ninth-place finish at the London Olympics.  Massialas finished 13th in London after an equally successful international season in 2012.

Both Imboden and Massialas will face the prospect of adjusting to new academic demands during the 2013 season, as both men have begun their first years of college studies.  Imboden attends St. John’s University in New York City, and Massialas is enrolled at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.  Despite the change, U.S. Men’s Foil coach Greg Massialas remains confident in both fencers’ preparations for international competition, as each athlete is studying within relatively easy reach of his home fencing club.

“I think it’s an adjustment in terms of their lifestyles… but the reality is that both of them actually have similar fencing environments, and that’s going to be stable,” Massialas said.  Imboden has continued to train with his coach, Jed Dupree, at Empire United Fencing, while Alex Massialas has maintained his training with the Massialas Foundation in San Francisco.  “A lot of fencers, when they change both their fencing environment and the collegiate environment, then those are two different issues that together can be complicated,” Massialas said.  Regarding Team USA’s two top fencers, “half of their life is sort of the same, and that’s a good thing.”

Joining Imboden and Massialas are veteran Team USA fencers Gerek Meinhardt, a bronze medalist at the 2010 World Championships, London Olympian Miles Chamley-Watson,  and 2011 Junior World Champion David Willette.  Despite nearing the ends of their respective academic careers (Willette and Chamley-Watson at Penn State University, and Meinhardt at the University of Notre Dame), all three men intend to continue to compete through the Rio Olympics.

Team USA knocked off France in 2012. The same team could do a lot of damage on the international scene over the next few seasons. (Photo: S.Timacheff/FencingPhotos)

“This group is pretty well committed to going forward,” Massialas said of Meinhardt, Chamley-Watson, and Willette.  “The truth is that all of the fencers in this group are all members of World Championship teams [at the Junior level].  It’s that same core of guys that won many World Championships, and feel comfortable together, and now it’s about transitioning to the senior game.”

The U.S. men will face a much-changed international landscape over the course of the next Olympic quadrennial, with aging or retiring athletes and shuffled coaching staffs affecting many of the world’s most successful fencing nations.

In Italy, long-time foil director Stefano Cerioni has departed for Russia, along with several individual fencer coaches that have all left the Italian federation.  The new Italian foil coaching staff inherits the Olympic champion and world #1 foil team in Andrea Baldini, Andrea Cassara, Valerio Aspromonte and Giorgi Avola — but also a group of athletes with a sometimes contentious personal and competitive history, which has been called the “team of poisoned foils” in the Italian press.

“Cerioni’s departure will affect both the women’s and men’s team,” Massialas said.  “He was really the glue that kept the men’s team together after the Baldini and Cassara issue [referring to the 2008 doping scandal that caused Baldini to miss the Olympic Games in Beijing].  They never trained and practiced together, and Cerioni was the one who was able to get those guys to work very well together.  And Aspromonte was sort of like a son to him,” said Massialas.  “A lot of these guys have been around the block, they’re professionals, but at the same time they might be at the end of their legs.  It’s going to be a very interesting dynamic.  [Cerioni’s departure] certainly isn’t helping them.”

Other successful international competitors around the world are advancing in age, and in some cases retiring from international competition.  In Germany, 2008 Olympic champion Benjamin Kliebrink is no longer competing, and three-time world champion Peter Joppich will turn 30 this season.  2008 Olympic silver medalist Ota Yuki of Japan turns 27.  In France, 2004 Olympic champion Brice Guyart announced his retirement, and veteran Erwan Le Pechoux turns 30.  In China, 2012 Olympic champion Lei Sheng is retiring, along with 2011 world championship teammates Zhu Jun, Huang Liangcai, and Zhang Liangliang.  Only Ma Jianfei remains from that country’s 2012 Olympic campaign.
These changes, according to Massialas, provides a unified and consistent Team USA with an opportunity for success.

“We had the youngest group,” Massialas said.  In London, “the average age of our fencers was a little over 20 years old.  The average age of the fencers we fenced [France, Italy, Germany] was almost 28 years old.” With regard to the Rio Olympics in 2016, “most of their guys will be either gone on their last legs, while our guys will be in their primes as competitors.”

Team USA’s youth appeared to factor into their fourth-place finish in London, as they struggled with veteran squads from Italy and Germany that featured several former world and Olympic champions.  However, the experience should prove valuable for a U.S. team that has shown greater success and a renewed focus on team fencing.

“To get the team qualified in the #5 spot [for the London Games] was a big goal for us,” Massialas said.  “We really emphasized the team working together as a group.”  Massialas also credited several fencers’ early individual qualifications for the Olympic team, which allowed them to focus more on team success than the individual goal of making the squad.  “Race and Alex were able to concentrate and really work and focus for the team,” Massialas said.  Though the last two spots were a tight individual race, having the team determined by April was an advantage for the Americans’ preparation.  “Because the selection was in April, that allowed us to have two World Cup team events to be finally fencing as a team,” said Massialas.  He intends to try and implement a final team determination in April for the entire Rio quadrennial, as the Senior World Championships have moved to the summer months rather than fall as in years previous.

Asked whether the world would be more prepared for an emergent American squad in the coming quadrennial, Massialas maintained that such preparation had always been a factor in international competitions.  “They were all prepared for us this time around.  It’s not like anyone was taking us lightly,” Massialas said. ”The Italians knew we were a force to be reckoned with [in the Olympics], and they really jumped on us right away.  It’s not that we fenced badly; they were well-prepared, and they just fenced better than us.  Everybody watches out for everybody; there are no surprises.”
Despite a full senior international schedule, Team USA’s junior age members plan to once again defend their world championship title, gunning for a fourth consecutive Junior World Championship.

“We actually have a chance to one-up the women’s sabre team,” Massialas said, referring to the three consecutive world titles won by the team of Becca Ward, Sada Jacobsen, and Mariel Zagunis.  “That should be an interesting challenge, considering how successful they’ve been.”

Watch the Challenge International de Paris live via the FFE’s feed on DailyMotion

Team USA Fencers boasts career bests as well as holding onto a #2 team world ranking.

Xuzhou Epee Grand Prix

Maya Lawrence (Photo: USOC)

Maya Lawrence finished 10th at the Xuzhou Epee Grand Prix, a career best. Her initial 11th seed exempted her from the pools and preliminary rounds, placing her in the table of 64 where she defeated Vanessa Galantine (FRA) 15-13. She then followed up that win with another against Alexandra Magdich (RUS)  in the table of 32, 15-14. In the table of 16 she faced off against 2012 Olympic team silver medalist A Lam Shin (KOR), where Lawrence lost 15-7. A Lam Shin would lose in the quarterfinals to Ana Maria Branza (ROU) 12-11. Branza then faced off against Shin’s London teammate Injeong Choi (KOR) in the finals. Choi went on to win the match 15-9.

The finish keeps Lawrence in the top-16, dropping a couple of spots to 13th. Sun Yujie (CHN) holds 1st place in the world rankings with a 2 point lead over #2 Yana Shemyakina (RUS).

Full results can be viewed via the FIE.

Athens Sabre World Cup

Daryl Homer Photo S.Timacheff/FencingPhotos.com

Daryl Homer earned the USA’s top individual result with a 20th place finish at the Athens Sabre World Cup this past weekend. His initial 9th seed exempted him from preliminary rounds on Friday, placing him in the table of 64 to start on Saturday. Homer defeated Ciprian Galatanu (ROU) 15-11 and was the only American to advance to the table of 32. He lost his next bout to Marco Ciari (ITA), 15-8. Ciari would lose in the next round to Benedikt Wagner (GER) 15-13. Wagner went on to defeat Enrico Berre’ (ITA) 15-10 in the quarter finals as well as 2012 Olympic team gold medalist Bon-Gil GU (KOR) 15-13 in the semi-finals. Wagner’s run was cut short in the finals as 2012 Olympic individual gold medalist Áron Szilágyi (HUN) won the championship bout, 15-9.

Other finishes: Aleksander Ochocki went undefeated in pools on Friday and advanced to the table of 64 on Saturday with a 21st seed placing. He lost his bout to Ferenc Valkai (HUN), 15-34 and finished 34th overall. Andrew Fischl finished 4-2 in pools and won against Evaggelos Boukas (GRE) 15-10 and Trofim Velikiy (RUS) 15-14 in the preliminary rounds on Friday to advance to the table of 64. On Saturday he lost to Andriy Yagodka (UKR) 15-13.

This World Cup also marks the return of Olympian Jeff Spear to competitive fencing. Spear had fractured his hand earlier this season and had not been able to compete since the injury. He went 3-3 in his pool bouts, but was able to come back and beat Guillermo Mancheno (ESP) 15-10 and Csaba Norbert Gall (HUN) 15-13 to advance to the table of 64. He was matched up against 2004 Olympic team bronze medalist and three time (2010-2012) European Fencing Champion Aleksey Yakimenko (RUS). Spear lost 15-12 and finished 61st.

Other American results:  Peter Souders 66th, Ben Igoe 68th, Donovan Deans 93rd, Thomas Kolasa 101st,  Gabriel Armijo 141st, and Evangelos Efstathiou 143rd.

Full results can be viewed here.

Seoul Foil World Cup

Congratulations to medalists Andrea Cassara (ITA – Gold), Erwan Le Pechoux (FRA – Silver), Li Hua (CHN – Bronze), and Julien Mertine (FRA – Bronze) at the 2013 SK Telecom Men’s Foil World Cup in Seoul, Korea on Saturday. Photo:fencingphotos.com

Miles Chamley-Watson had a great weekend at the Seoul Foil World Cup, finishing in the Top 8. It wasn’t smooth sailing for him to get there though; he was the only one of his London Olympic teammates not to be exempted from fencing the preliminary rounds. He had a shaky start, going 4-2 in pools, but won his preliminary bout to advance to Saturday.

In the table of 64, Chamley-Watson defeated Andrii Pogrebniak (UKR) 15-9. At the same time, Alexander Massialas won his match against Enzo Lefort (FRA), also 15-9.

With both advancing to the round of 32, the teammates had to fence each other. Chamley-Watson claimed a 15-13 victory to advance to the table of 16, where he defeated Artur Akhmatkhuzin (RUS) in a close match, 15-14. In the quarter-finals he lost to Hua Li (CHN) 15-11, giving him a 7th overall finish.

Hua Li lost to Erwan Le Pechoux (FRA) 15-9 in the semifinals. Le Pechoux faced off against #1 seed Andrea Cassara (ITA) in the finals, who bested him with a 15-8 victory.

Due to their top-16 world rankings, Alexander Massialas, Gerek Meinhardt and Race Imboden all immediately advanced to the table of 64 on Saturday and did not have to fence on Friday.

Massialas was knocked out in the round of 32 as previously mentioned by Chamley-Watson. Imboden lost to Jeremy Cadot (FRA) 15-7 in his table of 64, finishing in 34th. Meinhardt lost to Dmitry Komissarov (RUS) in a close 13-12 match, finishing 35th overall.

Other American results:  Forrest MacDougall 118th and Raymond Chen 122nd.

Full results can be viewed here.

SK Telecom Foil World Cup & Grand Prix, Seoul, South Korea ©2013 Serge Timacheff/FIE/FencingPhotos.com

SK Trophy Seoul Grand Prix: Deriglazova wins 4th Tournament

Inna Deriglazova (RUS) claimed her 4th tournament title of the season by defeating Astrid Guyart (FRA) to win the SK Telecom Women’s Foil Grand Prix in Seoul, South Korea. Korea clamied a bronze as Jeon Hee Sook (KOR) and Carolina Erba (ITA) shared 3rd.

Erba had fortune smiling on her as she entered the day as the 23rd seed but defeated #9 Nzingha Prescod (USA) 15-13, then #7 Ysaora Thibus (FRA) 15-6 before facing top seed and team mate Arianna Errigo. Erba would not be denied, and defeated Errigo 15-10. Her luck would not hold, as she lost 15-12 in the semi-finals to Deriglazova.

Team Events

Athens Sabre World Cup

The US Men’s Sabre Team finished 8th on Sunday. The team, comprised of Daryl Homer, Ben Igoe, Andrew Fischl, and Aleksander Ochocki, started with an initial 7th seed and had a bye into the table of 16. They won their opening bout against the Ukraine, keeping a lead to finish the match 45-37. They lost in the quarter finals to Russia, who held a steady 40-29 lead going into the final bout, with a final score of 45-37.

At the same time, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist South Korean team (seeded 3rd with a bye out of the table of 32 as well) won their table of 16 against Austria, 45-19. However they had an upset by Germany, losing 45-35 in the table of 8. This pit the Americans against South Koreans, who won 45-40.

Team USA went on to fence for seventh, ultimately being defeated by Romanians 45-39 to give them their 8th place finish. South Korea narrowly lost to Hungary 45-43, finishing 6th overall.

In the 1-4th table Germany fenced Russia, defeating the #2 seed 45-38. Belarus was defeated by Italy, 45-38. In the finals Germany beat Italy 45-34. Russia defeated Belarus to finish 3rd.

Full results available from the FencingWorldWide.

Seoul Foil World Cup – Another US vs. Italy Match

Medalists for the Men’s Team Foil event at the SK Telecom World Cup. Photo:FencingPhotos.com

USA Men’s Foil Team had a great end to their weekend, bringing home a silver medal that was also their third straight World Cup medal. The team of Alexander Massialas, Race Imboden and Gerek Meinhardt started their day fencing Belarus in the table of 16, winning 45-25. In the quarter finals they won against South Korea 45-36.

Germany was upset in the quarter finals, losing to China 45-29. This set up a match between the USA and China in the semifinals. USA won handily 45-28, giving them entrance to a gold medal match against Italy. Italy had been having a strong day as well, beating the Ukraine 45-29 in the quarter finals and France 45-39 in the semifinals.

The USA started strong, entering the 5th bout with a 20-14. Massialas fenced a subbed in Giorgio Avola, who cut lead to 25-24. Imboden came back and won the 6th bout, putting them back in the lead at 30-25. Chamley-Watson won the 7th bout, keeping the American’s in the lead 35-29. Andrea Cassara made a terrific comeback against Imboden to give Italy a 40-38 lead going into the last bout. Andrea Baldini scored 5-1 touches on Massialas, giving Italy the victory.

The silver medal keeps the standings stable with USA at #2 and Italy #1 heading into the final team event of the season next month in Cuba.

Full results can be viewed here.

Miles Chamley-Watson wins the 2013 Fencing World Championship in Men’s Foil. Photo S.Timacheff/FencingPhotos.com

Today’s men’s foil competition was full of surprises. None of the top seeded fencers made it into the semi-finals. World number 1 Andrea Cassara (ITA) lost his quarter-final bout against Rostyslav Hertsyk (UKR), Olympic Champion 2012 Lei Sheng dropped also out in the quarterfinals and Andrea Baldini (ITA), four time world champion Peter Joppich (GER) and Olympic silver medallist 2012 Alaaelding Abouelkassem did not even reach the top 8.

In the end, it was world number 6 Artur Akhmatkhuzin (RUS) and Miles Chamley-Watson (USA) that made it to the gold medal fight. Chamley-Watson had a fantastic start into the fight and was soon several touches ahead. He did not relent and closed the match at 15:6 to become the first US world champion in men’s foil.

This is the first medal for the United States at the 2013 Fencing World Championships.

Miles Chamley-Watson’s path through the championships: 

Chamley-Watson started these World Championships fencing in the preliminary rounds where he won all of his matches to earn the 19th seed entering the elimination portion of the tournament. After winning his first match 15-12 he put through two 15-14 matches to knock out higher seeds. His first was Italy’s Giorgio Avola, the 2011 bronze medalist, followed by Alexey Cheremisinov (RUS) who held a #3 world ranking.

In the final 8 Miles followed up with another 15-14 victory over Sebastian Bachmann (GER). Bachmann had already knocked out #6 James Davis (GBR) but was unable to hold onto an early lead against Chamley-Watson.

Once in the semi-finals, Miles Chamley-Watson took control, dispatching Valerio Aspromonte (ITA) 15-9 and domining in the gold medal match against Artur Akhmatkhuzin (RUS) 15-6.

In women’s sabre, Olympic bronze medallist 2012 Olga Kharlan (UKR) showed an impressive fighting spirit in the semi-final against 2012 Olympic Champion Kim Jiyeon (KOR) and won 15:14 after being several times behind in a very close match. In the final she faced Ekaterina Dyatchenko (RUS) who had eliminated two times indivdual Olympic Champion Mariel Zagunis (USA) in a tied quarterfinal 15:14 and then beat Irene Vecchi (ITA) 15:12 to advance to the final.

In the final, Olga Kharlan overran Dyatchenko in the first half of the match and soon led 9:3. Dyatchenko fought back, closed the gap and tied at 12:12. However, Kharlan stayed concentrated and touched three times in a row to finish the match 15:12. It was her fifth straight podium position at a major event but her first individual title.

Men’s Foil Video:

Final Results: Men’s Foil

Olga Kharlan won gold in Women’s Sabre. Photo S.Timacheff/FencingPhotos.com

Final Results: Women’s Sabre

Lausanne, 21 October 2013 – The crème de la crème of fencing will participate in the 2013 World Combat Games in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Five out of the six top ranked fencers in the 2012/2013 season will compete from 24 – 26 October in the St. Petersburg Sports Complex: Arianna Errigo (ITA, women’s foil), Andrea Cassara (ITA, men’s foil), Ana Maria Branza (ROU, women’s epee), Rubén Limardo Gascón (VEN, men’s epee) and Veniamin Reshetnikov (RUS, men’s sabre).

They will be joined by reigning world champions Miles Chamley-Watson (USA, men’s foil), Nikolai Novosjolov (EST, men’s epee) and Julia Beljajeva (EST, women’s epee).
Errigo and Reshetnikov stick out in particular among these top athletes as they both became double world champions at the 2013 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. In St. Petersburg, they will compete on October 24th with the gold medal matches starting at 6:00 PM local time. Men’s epee and women’s sabre is scheduled for October 25th. The fencing competitions close with women’s epee and men’s foil on October 26th.

The United States enters 4 total athletes in the World Combat Games with 2 time Olympic Gold Medalist Mariel Zagunis and Ibtihaj Muhammad competing in women’s sabre, and Race Imboden competing in men’s foil along with Chamley-Watson.

Arianna Errigo said about the World Combat Games: “I am going to the World Combat Games with the feeling that it will be a special competition for me. It is the first time that I will go on the piste as a World Champion, but this will undoubtedly give me a lot of strength. Furthermore, this event is taking place in a moment when the new season is beginning. Personally, I don’t feel at my best, because I am working to be ready in January. But when I compete I do want to win and in Saint Petersburg I will do anything to reach the best result.”

FIE Secretary General Frederic Pietruszka said: “The FIE is satisfied to have an additional competition that provides a high level platform for our stars. We are constantly looking at how we can reach out to new audiences. This is also why we launch a new Grand Prix series in the 2014/2015 season with nine top events in nine iconic places around the world.”

Fans and media can watch the World Combat Games live on their live feed and follow the live results at www.worldcombatgames.com.

Top fencers to compete in the World Combat Games

Andrea Baldini won the 2013 Challenge International de Paris

The world’s top fencers are off to Paris to compete in the first Men’s Foil World Cup event of the 2014-2015 season. Team USA carries the young guns poised to make a medal run in Rio at the 2016 Olympics. The path to the 2016 Games starts in Paris as the US team looks to repeat their team victory from 2013 and World Champion Miles Chamley-Watson aims to add another victory to his resume.

Miles Chamley-Watson looks to add another medal to his collection.

The weekend of January 18-19 mark the Challenge International de Paris – the flagship tournament for men’s foil. The event will take place at Stade Pierre de Coubertin in Paris . Last year Andrea Baldini (ITA) defeated Jeremy Cadot (FRA) 15-11 in the finals as Italy dominated with 5 of the top-8. The top US finish in 2013 was Alexander Massialas in 11th place. In last year’s team event, the USA took gold, defeating Germany in the finals 45-33. About the CIP Format: Competition over 2 days :

• Saturday, January 18 – Individual event (Quarter-finals begin at 4pm local time)
• Sunday, January 19 – Team event (Semifinals begin at 12:30)

Competition organized by the ETF , created in 1953 under the name ” Martini Challenge ” is a test of World Cup senior men’s foil , accounting for the international circuit. Find all the information about the event : www.escrime – cip.com

Fencers in the Top-25:

FIE Team Rankings:

Team USA looks to start season off at the Challenge International de Paris

Miles Chamley-Watson with a young fan in Venice. (via Facebook).

Today the FIE announced that Miles Chamley-Watson (USA), reigning World Champion in men’s foil and Olympic Champion Lei Sheng (CHN, also men’s foil) will be the Athletes Role Models for fencing at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Nanjing, China, 16 – 28 August 2014.

Both will attend the YOG and inspire, mentor and engage with young athletes. They will share experiences, answer questions, provide tips on career management and also take part in various cultural and educational activities.

For example, they will be part of the fencing demo in the Youth Olympic Village together with young fencers as well as visit the fencing venue.

Miles Chamley-Watson said about being an Athletes Role Model: “I would like to thank the IOC and FIE for selecting me as one of the athlete role models for the Youth Olympic Games. I’m looking forward to the chance to work with the next generation of athletes as well as the opportunity to showcase the sport of fencing to kids from around the world.”

Lei Sheng commented: “It’s a great honor for me to be an athlete role model for the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games. I would like to thank you all for your trust and support. I will do everything I can for the YOG. As Nelson Mandela said ‘Sport has the power to change the world’, I can deeply feel the great responsibility and the sacred mission which had been given to the athlete role model.

The Olympic movement respects the fighting spirit of ‘faster, higher, stronger’, and pursues for essential doctrine of ‘unity, friendship, peace and advancement’. I believe that those spirits will be more popular support through the YOG. I greatly appreciate that I can act as the Nanjing YOG ambassador and can contribute to the building of ‘a peaceful and better world’.

The stronger the youth are, the stronger the world will be. I sincerely wish all athletes could give their best performance in the YOG, and hope that you, dear friends from all over the world, could spend a great time in Nanjing. Finally, I hope Nanjing Youth Olympic Games a great success!”

Miles Chamley-Watson named Athlete Role Model for 2014 Youth Olympic Games

In December 2013 Harrods Magazine used fencing as the backdrop to highlight their fashion collection. Here’s the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb1JmTASfBg

US fencers Race Imboden and Miles Chamley-Watson have their own successful modeling careers and Ibtihaj Muhammad has just launched her own fashion line: Louella by Ibtihaj Muhammad.

Throwback Thursday: Harrods Magazine and Fencing

Race Imboden tweeted out some fan art of the US Men’s Foil Team:

The US Men’s Foil Team of Race Imboden, Miles Chamley-Watson, Gerek Meinhardt, and Alexander Massialas captured as fan art.

Tracing this down led me to the Instagram account of oh_maju who had a number of other teams depicted:

Japan

Japan’s Men’s Foil Team by oh_maju

Russia

Russia’s Men’s Foil Team by oh_maju

Germany

German Men’s Foil Team by oh_maju

Italy

Italy’s Men’s Foil Team by oh_maju

This is great art – I can’t wait to see what comes up between now and the 2014 World Championships in Kazan.

Awesome Fencing Fan-Art

Alex Massialas coached by his father, Greg. Photo: FencingPhotos.com

In a previous post, I suggested ideas for how a coach may properly utilize the one minute break to refocus his/her fencer and provide tactical recommendations to either turn the tables or maintain a lead.

At the recommendation of my colleagues at The Fencing Coach: Leland “The Dark Lord of Canada” Guillemin, and Hannah Provenza, I hope to address how an athlete may approach the one minute break should they not have a coach present.

In fencing, the one minute break is far more than an opportunity for the athlete to catch their breath (though in recent memory, I’ve needed the one minute break to do just that!). It is time for reflection; it is time to regroup, and a time to strategize for the period ahead.

Whether winning or losing, the simple act of disengaging oneself from the bout to collect one’s thoughts can have monumental benefits in the subsequent periods. For experienced fencers, this personal reflection can be even more advantageous than having a strip coach to discuss strategy with.

During the 2013 World Championships, Miles Chamley-Watson entered the second break with a 11-3 deficit to Sebastien Bachmann. Rather than summon his coach Simon Gershon for advice, Chamley-Watson simply closed his eyes, took a deep breath, focused, and strategized for the period ahead. Despite his eight touch deficit and Bachmann being only four touches from victory, Chamley-Watson believed that he could turn the tables on the German and win.

When recounting the strategic change in my interview with him, Chamley-Watson noted that “…I changed my game so I would be more stubborn in my approach and preparation. Each time I attacked him, it simply did not work. I decided I would start attacking him with the intention of picking up the blade in opposition which I had anticipated being the safest route to mounting a comeback. This gave me enough time to judge the distance, which was the difference in the match.”

Chamley-Watson’s articulation of his strategy is noteworthy for three reasons:

1. He had a self-awareness for what was not working and what put him down eight touches. (Failure in approach and preparation)
2. He understood what was in his repertoire and how he could use this to change the course of the bout. (Greater distance, intent to take Bachmann’s blade in opposition)
3. He never believed the bout was out of his reach. “Mentally,” Chamley-Watson said, “always tell yourself that it is never over until those seconds end.”

The story is well known. Chamley-Watson came back on Bachmann, won 15-14, and ultimately went on to become the 2013 Men’s Foil World Champion.

Your coach isn’t going to be there with you for every tournament, and even if s/he is, the journey of the bout is sometimes best taken alone. Adjustments must be made from touch-to-touch, but the true strategic changes come during the one minute break.

With input from my colleagues at The Fencing Coach, we’ve designed the following diagram to help visualize how to best make use of the one minute break.

Damien’s one minute break philosophy. Click to expand.

Remember, the bout is neither over if you’re winning nor losing. It is only over when, as Miles said, the final seconds tick away. Use that one minute break to position yourself for maximum success.

Talk Back: How do you use the one minute break to your advantage when you don’t have your coach present?

“I know it’s only somewhat related, but during college fencing bouts whenever the other team called a timeout in a bout I was fencing, rather than coaching or anything I encouraged my whole team to line up for hugs. I don’t know if it was the hugs, but I never went on to lose a bout that I was winning because the other team called a timeout. It was probably the hugs, actually.” – Ben White

“Jaeger Bombs!” – Aaron Hambleton

“Turn my back on my opponent, take deep breaths, drink my electrolyte water and think….rationally.” – Richmond Fencing Club Head Coach Cyndi Lucente

“Yell at myself in Bulgarian.” – Brandeis University Fencer Ari Feingersch

“The main thing I do when my coach is absent, is start to panic (prior to the break). That being said, as soon as the break starts, i’m working on controlling my breathing in-between drinking some water. That allows me to calm down and look at the other fencer as well as what i’m doing with a more controlled eye, allowing me to make necessary changes.” – Maccabi Team Member Andrew Bogetz

“Focus on facts and develop a plan from there. Normal questions I ask myself are: “What were the last 5 actions?” “What action was behind each of my points?” “What action did he use for each point?” “In both cases, does one action occur more than the others?” “What actions have I not tried?” “Physically WHERE on the strip has each touch occured? My side? His? In the box?” –Capitol Fencing Academy Assistant Coach Litteton Riggins

“Adjustments. Always about adjustments, whether you’re winning or losing. If you’re winning, how will they adjust to what you’re doing to beat them? The next point is about establishing the remainder of the bout. If I’m winning, my next point is something they haven’t seen me do yet, good or bad. Once they think you’re doing something else, go back to what was working as they will forget what they thought about at the break.” – Chad Short

The Longest Minute: Using the One Minute Break to Envision Victory

Miles Chamley-Watson is one of the athletes nominated for the Team USA Athlete of the Month award for May 2015.

Vote at: http://www.teamusa.org/awards

Miles won his first career Grand Prix title at the Shanghai Foil Grand Prix, becoming just the second U.S. men’s foil fencer ever to do so.

Miles Chamley-Watson wants you to vote him USOC Athlete of the Month! (Photo via FIE/Serge Timacheff)

Vote Miles Chamley-Watson Athlete of the Month

Miles Chamley-Watson won the Tokyo World Cup. (Photo via FIE / Bizzi)

Miles Chamley-Watson defeated Giorgio Avola (ITA) 15-10 to win the Prince Takamando Men’s Foil World Cup in Tokyo, Japan. This is Chamley-Watson’s first medal finish of the new season and his second time to the top-8.

The Prince Takamando World Cup is the second event in the FIE Men’s Foil circuit.

Chamley-Watson was joined in the top-8 by teammate and Olympic Silver Medalist Alexander Massialas. Chamley-Watson is currently ranked 15th in the world and will see his placement move up as a result of this world cup gold.

The US Men’s Foil team competes today in the team fencing event, where they are ranked 1st in the world.

Miles Chamley-Watson faces off against Italy’s Avola in the finals of the Tokyo World Cup. (Photo via FIE / Bizzi)

Final Results:

Rank Points Name Nationality Birth Date
1 32 CHAMLEY-WATSON Miles USA
2 26 AVOLA Giorgio ITA
3 20 LE PECHOUX Erwan FRA
3 20 PAROLI Alessandro ITA
5 14 MASSIALAS Alexander USA
6 14 GAROZZO Daniele ITA
7 14 KLEIBRINK Benjamin GER
8 14 LLAVADOR Carlos ESP

Full results including pool and DE bout scores are available at the FIE web site.

Miles Chamley-Watson celebrates on scoring the winning touch in the finals. (Photo via FIE / Bizzi)

Miles Chamley-Watson Wins Tokyo World Cup

Miles Chamley-Watson won the Tokyo World Cup. (Photo via FIE / Bizzi)

Miles Chamley-Watson defeated Giorgio Avola (ITA) 15-10 to win the Prince Takamando Men’s Foil World Cup in Tokyo, Japan. This is Chamley-Watson’s first medal finish of the new season and his second time to the top-8.

The Prince Takamando World Cup is the second event in the FIE Men’s Foil circuit.

Chamley-Watson was joined in the top-8 by teammate and Olympic Silver Medalist Alexander Massialas. Chamley-Watson is currently ranked 15th in the world and will see his placement move up as a result of this world cup gold.

The US Men’s Foil team competes today in the team fencing event, where they are ranked 1st in the world.

Miles Chamley-Watson faces off against Italy’s Avola in the finals of the Tokyo World Cup. (Photo via FIE / Bizzi)

Final Results:

Rank Points Name Nationality Birth Date
1 32 CHAMLEY-WATSON Miles USA
2 26 AVOLA Giorgio ITA
3 20 LE PECHOUX Erwan FRA
3 20 PAROLI Alessandro ITA
5 14 MASSIALAS Alexander USA
6 14 GAROZZO Daniele ITA
7 14 KLEIBRINK Benjamin GER
8 14 LLAVADOR Carlos ESP

Full results including pool and DE bout scores are available at the FIE web site.

Miles Chamley-Watson celebrates on scoring the winning touch in the finals. (Photo via FIE / Bizzi)

Miles Chamley-Watson Wins Tokyo World Cup