Race Imboden celebrates during the men's team foil bronze-medal match at the Olympic Games Rio 2016 on Aug. 12, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.
Five For Friday: Beach Volleyball
The U.S. foil fencing team takes its impressive season to Shanghai this week for an FIE Grand Prix tournament.
The men’s team, which won the bronze medal at the Olympic Games Rio 2016, won all five world cup team competitions this season. But this week, it’s all about the individual tournament. Race Imboden and Alexander Massialas, both two-time Olympians and both former world No. 1s, have already won grand prix titles this season. They are the third and fifth seeds, respectively, in this week’s tournament.
Among the 12 U.S. athletes joining them are Gerek Meinhardt, a three-time Olympian who is seeded 15th, and Miles Chamley-Watson, a two-time Olympian who is seeded 21st. The four combined for the Olympic bronze in Rio.
Leading the women’s foil competition for the U.S. is third-seeded Lee Kiefer, a two-time Olympian who won a bronze medal in the Anaheim Grand Prix for one of her four international medals this season. Among the other nine U.S. women is Nicole Ross, a 2012 Olympian who is ranked 13th in the world.
The men’s and women’s finals are Sunday.
Eli Dershwitz, a 2016 Olympian, is among 12 U.S. men’s saber fencers in Madrid for world cup individual and team tournaments. He is the third seed. Others include 14th-seeded Daryl Homer, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist. The individual final is Saturday.
Dershwitz, Homer, Andrew Mackiewicz and Jeff Spear are the sixth-seeded squad in Sunday’s team competition.
Paul D. Bowker is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
