ACOG - News - IBM

(19 July 1996)

Italy's CUOMO Seeks Elusive Olympic Gold in Men's Epee

A glance at the resume of Italy's Sandro CUOMO reveals his lengthy list of accomplishments. A four-time Olympian and 16-year member of the Italian national fencing team, the 33-year-old native of Naples is currently the top-ranked epee fencer in the world and has led Italy to three World Championships in team epee and a bronze medal in team epee at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

But the one item lacking on CUOMO's impressive list of credentials is an Olympic gold medal. The left-hander will seek to add that elusive title as fencing competition at the Centennial Olympic Games begins Saturday, 20 July at 10:00 with men's individual epee competition at the Georgia World Congress Center. CUOMO's best previous Olympic finish was fourth in Seoul in 1988.

CUOMO is the top seed in the Olympic draw and thereby earns a first-round bye. But his path to gold is blocked by several formidable contenders, including the last two Olympic champions.

Germany's Arnd SCHMITT, the 1988 Olympic gold medalist and 1995 European Champion, looms as a possible semifinal opponent for CUOMO. SCHMITT has won 15 World Cup tournaments and earlier this year captured the epee title in the World Cup tournament in his hometown of Heidenheim. He is hoping to make ammends for a sub-par 29th-place showing in Barcelona in 1992.

While Barcelona was a disappointment for SCHMITT, it was a time France's Eric SRECKI will always cherish. SRECKI had always been considered a bridesmaid until 1992, when he emerged from the repechage to capture the gold medal in Barcelona.

SRECKI led the French team to a World Championship title in 1994 and is seeking to become the first fencer in Olympic history to win consecutive individual epee golds. SRECKI is ranked second in the world and is seeded in the bottom half of the draw.

Two other Frenchmen -- Robert LEROUX and Jean-Michel HENRY -- also are ranked in the top 10. HENRY was a bronze medalist in Barcelona. Other top contenders include Ivan KOVACS of Hungary, Angelo MAZZONI of Italy and 1992 silver medalist Pavel KOLOBKOV of Russia.

One of just three sports to be contested at every Olympic Games in the Modern era, fencing has nonetheless undergone a significant change for the 1996 Games. All competitions will be single-elimination without repechages.

This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Mark Vinson.



Olympic Factoid
The Mother Nature was kind to Olympic athletes and spectators. The average high temperature during the Games was 89 degrees with an average low of 72 degrees. Highest temperature registered (20 July) - 99 degrees. Lowest high temperature registered is 79 degrees (28 July).