Women's Fencing / Individual Foil Final
Badea Spoils Italy's Golden Party:
Nearly everyone gathered at the Georgia World Congress Center for the Centennial Olympic Games was anticipating a women's fencing foil final between Italy's dynamic duo of defending Olympic champion Giovana TRILLINI and 1995 World Cup champion Valentina VEZZALI. Everyone except perhaps Laura BADEA of Romania.
The 26-year-old from Bucharest spoiled the Italian plans by beating both TRILLINI and VEZZALI in succession to earn Romania's first ever women's foil gold medal. BADEA, a bronze medalist in the team event in Barcelona in 1992, fell behind TRILLINI 4-0 in the semifinal and was forced to take an injury time-out after being cut on her left shoulder by TRILLINI's weapon. She gamely regrouped and overcame an 8-4 deficit after two periods to score a 15-10 win and reach the final.
Waiting for her was VEZZALI, who was hoping to following in the footsteps of her friend and training partner as a 22-year-old Olympic champion. The pace of the bout was measured with each fencer deligently seeking the opportunity to attack. When the dust settled, BADEA emerged 15-10 victory. TRILLINI regrouped to defeat Laurence MODAINE-CESSAC for the bronze medal. Medal Results: Gold: Laura BEDEA (ROM), Silver: Valentina VEZZALI (ITA); Bronze: Giovana TRILLINI (ITA).
"Once I read in a book that you have to do everything you can to win so that when you wake up in the morning and look in the mirror, you know that you did everything you could to win,'' said fencing foil gold medalist Laura BADEA after rallying from a deficit and an injury to beat defending Olympic champion Giovana TRILLINI of Italy. "I knew they were very good, but I never lost hope.''
Better late than never, Puccini rescues Italy
: When things looked bleakest for the Italian fencing team at the Centennial Olympic Games, it turned to Alessandro PUCCINI. And when things looked bleakest for PUCCINI, he fenced his very best. PUCCINI overcame deficits in each of his final three matches and defeated Lionel PLUMENAIL of France 15-12 Monday to earn Italy's first gold medal of the fencing competition. The Italians have won at least one individual fencing gold in every Olympic Games which they have attended since 1968. (Italy did not attend the 1980 Games in Moscow.) PUCCINI, who earned a silver medal in this event at the 1994 World Championships, is ranked ninth in the world. He trailed Franck BOIDIN of France 10-7 in the semifinals before rallying to win 15-13. In the final against PLUMENAIL, he jumped to a 5-1 lead but lost the momentum and the lead to the Frenchmen. But with the score tied at 11-11, PUZZICHINI changed his strategy, counterattacked and won four of the next 5 points to take the title. Medal Results: Gold: Alessandro PUCCINI (ITA), Silver: Lionel PLUMENAIL (FRA); Bronze: Franck BOIDIN (FRA).
"I won a lot of matches that I was losing but it was very hard," said foil gold medalist Alessandro PUCCINI. "I am very tired."
Italians on Course for Medal Showdown:
Top-seeded Valentina VEZZALI of Italy stayed on course for a possible gold-medal showdown with fellow countrywoman and rival Giovanna TRILLINI in women's foil competition Monday morning at the Centennial Olympic Games. VEZZALI called upon all of her considerable talent and experience to stave off an upset bid by determined American Ann MARSH 15-10 in the quarterfinals. Fencing before a partisan crowd at the Georgia World Congress Center, MARSH's top eight performance is the best Olympic finish by an American woman in 40 years. In the quarterfinals, VEZZALI jumped to an 8-0 lead before MARSH rallied within 12-8. But the Italian's overall ability and experience allowed her to withstand the challenge and advance.
VEZZALI will meet France's Laurence MODAINE-CESSAC in the semifinals. MODAINE-CESSAC, who finished fourth in this event four years ago, advanced when Italy's Diana BIANCHEDI was forced to pull out with an injury. She went on to defeat Monika WEBER-KOSZTO 15-14 in a dramatic, back-and-forth quarterfinal bout.
TRILLINI, the 1992 gold medalist in Barcelona, and Romania's Laura BADEA each advanced to the medal round with three routine victories. In the quarterfinals, BADEA defeated Hungary's Aida MOHAMED 15-8 while TRILLINI ousted XIAO Aihua of the People's Republic of China, 15-7. Semifinal bouts: Valentina VEZZALI (ITA) vs. Laurence MODAINE-CESSAC (FRA); Laura BADEA (ROM) vs. Giovanna TRILLINI (ITA).
"The people were really supportive", said Ann MARSH of the United States after losing in the quarterfinals to top-seeded Valentina VEZZALI of Italy. "That was really nice. You have a sense that everyone is behind you."
Cubans Fail to Meet Lofty Expectations:
The Cuban duo of Rolando TUCKER and Elvis GREGORY entered Monday's men's foil action at the Centennial Olympic Games with high hopes to earn the nation's second and third medals of the fencing competition. But unlike epee silver medalist Ivan TREVEJO PEREZ, both TUCKER and GREGORY saw
TUCKER, the 1994 World Champion who had been dominating the World Cup circuit this year, dropped a 15-12 decision to Wolfgang WIENAND of Germany in the quarterfinals. GREGORY, meanwhile, lost to France's Philippe OMNES in the third round.
GREGORY was so upset by the officiating in the bout and by what he considered illegal maneuvers by his opponent that he refused to shake OMNES' hand following the bout and got into a brief altercation with several members of the French team as he was leaving the field of play.
The elimination of the Cuban stars along with second-seeded Dmitriv SHEVCHENKO's (RUS) loss to unheralded Korean KIM Young-Ho in the second round opened the door for several veterans and one newcomer to reach to the medal stand. Italy's Alessandro PUCCINI, a silver medalist at the 1994 World Championships, had to rally to edge KIM 15-14 in the quarterfinals while France's Franck BOIDIN, ranked sixth in the world, beat countryman OMNES 15-11 to reach the medal round. Semifinal bouts: Wolfgang WIENAND (GER) vs. Lionel PLUMENAIL (FRA); Franck BOIDIN (FRA) vs. Alessandro PUCCINI (ITA).
"This is my first Olympics and the biggest victory I have had," said Germany's Wolfgang WIENAND after defeating top-ranked Rolando TUCKER of Cuba.
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