Americans crash European party among fencing elite
(AP) Scroll through the list of medal contenders in fencing, and all the familiar names are there: Italy, France, Russia, Hungary, the United States.
Wait, the United States?
Yes, the country that won one measly Olympic medal from 1964 until Mariel Zagunis took gold at the Athens Games has quietly emerged as a team to be reckoned with in all disciplines of fencing. The U.S. has continued building on its six-medal performance at the Beijing Olympics over the last four years, with Zagunis winning world titles in 2009 and 2010 and Americans becoming an increasingly familiar site on the podium at World Cups.
CBSNews.com: Complete London Summer Olympics coverage
Earlier this month, the U.S. won its first world title in men's team fencing when the epee squad beat France, the Olympic champions, to claim gold at the World Team Championships.
"I've been through the cycle where we would go to a world championships or a World Cup and be incredibly happy if someone made the top 32. Now we go and we're happy for people if they make the top eight, but we're expecting those results," said Greg Dilworth, executive director of USA Fencing. "We absolutely have medal opportunities across the board, in all weapons and all genders."
After winning 18 medals between 1896 and 1960, one of them gold, U.S. fencers made the podium just once over the next 44 years — and that was a bronze at the boycotted 1984 Games. But when the Soviet Union broke up, it sparked a resurgence in American fencing as coaches from the Eastern bloc countries that had long dominated the sport began coming to the United States.
"That changed the game for us because those coaches brought a mindset we didn't have," Dilworth said. "We had a lot of talented coaches in the U.S., but since we hadn't won before, what made us think we could win now? The (European coaches) looked around, looked at our athletes and said, `There are just as many talented athletes as anywhere else in world, there's no reason the United States couldn't be a power in fencing."'
The first signs of success came in the youth ranks, at the cadet and junior levels, as Americans began competing internationally at younger and younger ages. As those fencers got older, results at the senior level improved.
And when Zagunis won her gold in Athens, it started a hardware haul the likes of which the Americans have never seen.
This year alone, the women's epee team won its first World Cup medal, a silver, while the men made the podium at two of their three World Cups. The men's saber team won its first World Cup medal since 2005, a bronze, while the women finished third at the world championships.
And the United States — not Italy, not France, not Russia — is the only country that qualified the maximum 16 fencers for the London Olympics.
"I don't think there's necessarily direct competition, but there's a lot of inspiration and motivation seeing people you know, people who grew up fencing in the same tournaments you did suddenly breaking through. It gives you the confidence that you can do it, too," said Soren Thompson, a member of the world championship epee team.
The Americans aren't going away any time soon, either. At the junior and cadet world championships that ended earlier this month, the U.S. team won 12 medals, second only to Russia. The nine individual medals won by U.S. fencers was the best of any country.
USA Fencing's membership has quadrupled over the last 20 years, Dilworth said. Where fencing was once concentrated in New York and one or two other areas, clubs can now be found in almost every major city, and the London Olympic squad will include athletes from such fencing "hotspots" as Kentucky and Texas.
"It's thrilling to see how far we've come," said Thompson, who will compete in individual epee in London.
"There's tons of talent out there, and they're pushing us and eventually they'll come on and have the same results. Maybe even better results in the future."