(20 July 1996; Day 1)
Aleksandr BEKETOV (RUS) surprised himself as well as the rest of the fencing world on Saturday at the Centennial Olympic Games.
Competing in his first Olympics, the 26-year-old from Voskresensk of the Russian Federation defeated Cuba's Ivan TREVEJO PEREZ, 15-14, in a dramatic, come-from-behind effort to become the first Russian ever to earn an Olympic gold medal in men's individual epee.
``I didn't expect to be Olympic champion,'' a smiling BEKETOV admitted. ``But deep in my soul, I hoped to win. The skill level of the fencers was about the same. It was just my will to win that was the difference.''
TREVEJO PEREZ led 11-6 in the gold medal bout before BEKETOV scored five straight points to tie the match. ``The athlete from Cuba believed in his victory too early and that led to his defeat,'' BEKETOV said. TREVEJO PEREZ said he changed his strategy with the lead which allowed the Russian back into the bout.
With the score tied at 14-14, TREVEJO PEREZ failed on a lunge and BEKETOV recorded the winning touch.
BEKETOV had defeated defending Olympic gold medalist Eric SRECKI of France in the third round and Barcelona bronze medalist Jean-Michel HENRY of France in the quarterfinals.
BEKETOV's effort was typical of a day which saw top seeds and former Olympic champions stumble and fall and new stars emerge. Italy's 33-year-old Sandro CUOMO, the world's top-ranked epee fencer and a four-time Olympian but never a medalist in individual competition, first fell off his strip in a preliminary bout and then saw his golden dreams dashed by 21-year-old Hungarian Geza IMRE.
CUOMO's attitude was gracious but less than cheerful following his quarterfinal loss to IMRE. "It was a special bout for me," said the world's top-ranked epee fencer. "It's probably my last Olympics. I didn't fence very well but I have nothing to be sorry about. I trained very hard."
IMRE went on to defeat his countryman, third-seeded Ivan KOVACS, to win the bronze medal. KOVACS had injured his right ankle while falling off the strip during his semifinal loss to BEKETOV and was noticeably hindered by the resultant lack of mobility. Another former Olympic champion, 1988 gold medalist Arnd SCMITT of Germany, also fell and injured his hip during his loss to TREVEJO PEREZ. IT was not immediately known whether they would recover sufficiently to compete in team competition.
While all three medalists are first time Olympians and only BEKETOV can claim a World Cup title to his credit, they said they were not completely surprised by the upsets. ''This is epee and anyone can win,'' IMRE said. ``It's a mental sport and therefore your attitude is very important.''
Men's sabre will be contested on Sunday while women's epee makes its debut as an Olympic sport on Sunday as well.
| The volunteer staff of the 1996 Olympic Games totaled 50,152. They worked an estimated 850,000 shifts. |