Fencer Daryl Homer did not win the gold for the U.S.in men’s individual sabre Wednesday in Rio.
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Men’s individual sabre has been contested in every modern Olympics, dating back to 1896, and Homer’s was only the third medal of any kind claimed in the event by an American.
“I was like ‘No regrets”.
“I’m just very, very pleased”, Homer said. “If you want a medal, you have to do something big for it”.
Mojtaba Abedini’s fourth-place finish in the men’s sabre was the strongest performance from an Iranian fencer, and he was one touch away from the final before falling to Homer.
Homer became the first US man to win an Olympic medal in individual sabre since Peter Westbrook, who won the bronze at the boycotted 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Another 2012 champion, Elisa Di Francisca, nearly grabbed her second consecutive Olympic foil title but the Italian’s valiant fight back ran out of time and she took silver behind Russian Inna Deriglazova.
An American has never won a gold in men’s individual sabre. He graduated from St. John’s University in 2013 with a marketing degree and works in advertising when not training. “This is a win for U.S.”.
Hungary’s Aron Szilagyi beat him by a score of 15-8 in the gold medal bout.
Tunisia’s Ines Boubakri took bronze in the event, making her the first woman from Africa to win an Olympic fencing medal.
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Along with Alex Massialas winning silver in foil on Sunday, the USA has scored multiple medals in fencing for the first time since 1904. Like Westbrook, Homer is black, a rarity in the sport.
