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Girls Guide: Olympic Update 8/9/08

jane — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 20:39:03 +0000

August 9, 2008 - Here are some highlights of the opening day of the Summer Games:

Beach Volleyball:
Branagh, Youngs Win Opening Olympic Match - The U.S. beach volleyball team of Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.) and Elaine Youngs (El Toro, Calif.), ranked fifth, won their opening match of the Olympic Games on Saturday, defeating Netherland’s 20th-seeded Rebekka Kadijk and Merel Mooren, 21-19, 27-25, at the beach volleyball venue in Chaoyang Park.

Fencing:
Zagunis Wins Gold, U.S. Women Sweep Sabre - Mariel Zagunis reclaimed the gold medal in a repeat of her 2004 performance in Athens. Zagunis defeated teammate Sada Jacobson 15-8 to claim the gold. The U.S. women completed an historic sweep of the medals as teammate Rebecca Ward earlier won a closely contested bronze medal match.

Soccer:
U.S. women sneak past Japan 1-0 Midfielder Carli Lloyd scored on a first-half volley to lead the U.S. women’s soccer team to a 1-0 win over Japan and put the Americans’ Olympic title defense back on track at the Beijing Games.

Female fencers looking for gold

jane — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 16:23:45 +0000

April 27, 2008 - Mariel Zagunis, who won a gold medal at the Athens Olympics, Sada Jacobson, who won the bronze in 2004, and Becca Ward were selected to the women’s sabre team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Dagmara Wozniak was named an alternate.

Zagunis, the daughter of Olympians, won a rare Olympic fencing gold medal for the U.S. when she shocked Tan Xue of China in the finals in 2004. Less than a decade after Mariel picked up fencing, she became the first American woman in 100 years to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport.

“It will be totally different this time around,” Zagunis said. “I have a title to defend so that is added pressure. You have everyone expecting you to win and there’s a big target on your back that everyone is gunning for.”

Erinn Smart, Emily Cross and Hannah Thompson were named to the women’s foil team, with Doris Willette as the alternate. Kelley Hurley will compete in the women’s epee.

Fencing Lingo

admin — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:20:42 +0000

ADVANCE
a movement forward

ASSAULT
friendly combat between two fencers

ATTACK
initial offensive action made by extending the sword arm and threatening the the opponent

BALESTRA
a forward hop or jump

BOUT
an assault at which the score is kept

BROADSWORD
any sword intended for cutting instead of thrusting; sabre

BUTTON
the safety tip on the end of practice and sporting swords

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Quick Fencing Facts

admin — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 06:27:23 +0000

1. Fencing is one of only four sports to be included in every modern Olympic Games, since the first in 1896. Fencing was also a sport in the original Olympic Games in ancient Greece.

2. Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympic Games, was a fencer.

3. The tip of the fencing weapon is the second fastest moving object in sport; the first is the marksman’s bullet.

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