Leading through the first 1000 meters of the women’s cycling team pursuit gold medal match, the USA women’s dreams of an Olympic gold medal did not come to fruition because of a historic effort put forth by Great Britain.
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Zagunis, who closed out the victory in the anchor position, outscored her Italian opponents 15-9 Saturday in helping to lead the U.S.to bronze for the second time in as many times as the weapon has been contested on the team level.
Ibtihaj Muhammad, who made history as the first American to wear a hijab in Olympic competition, added 10 points before she was subbed out for alternate Monica Aksamit who contributed 5. Mariel Zagunis, a two-time individual gold medal victor, was the fourth member of team.
“I realize this moment is bigger than just me”, she said after her individual event. She and the rest of her American teammates were eliminated from the women’s individual sabre competition later that day.
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The last time the women’s fencing team won a medal was at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Zagunis, the 2004 and 2008 Olympic champion, finished a surprising ninth, while Muhammad and Wozniak finished 12th and 24th, respectively.
