- Rebecca Ward
Rebecca "Becca" Ward (born
February 7 ,1990 ) is an American sabre fencer.Ward won the
gold medal at the sabre2006 World Fencing Championships after beatingMariel Zagunis 15-11 in the final.A member of the Oregon Fencing Alliance (OFA), she trains with
Ed Korfanty and has won a record number of world titles for a female sabre fencer in 2006; Cadet (u17), Junior (u20), Junior Team and Senior. As of June 2007, Ward is is ranked first in the world in both Official and World Cup rankings for senior women sabre fencers.As of July 2007, Ward is the number one ranked senior women's sabre fencer in the United States and on the FIE Rankings. Ward is the only sabre fencer in the world to beat
Xue Tan of China and do so twice this season 2006–2007. Ward won the Grand Prix in Las Vegas and gave up only 30 points of a possible 90. That is five points in each 15 point bout.She also is going to attend
Duke University after attending the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing, China.2008 Beijing Olympics
Ward was one of the top seeds for the individual sabre competition. She won her first bout, against Spain's
Araceli Navarro , when Navarro was forced to withdraw due to a shoulder injury (Ward was winning 12-7 at the time). She then defeatedOrsolya Nagy of Hungary in a round of 16 bout, 15-5. In the quarterfinals, she won a close match against Tunisia'sAzza Besbes , 15-14, in a match decided by one final touch.In the semifinals, Ward faced defending Olympic champion
Mariel Zagunis , with whom she trained regularly at the Oregon Fencing Alliance. She lost the bout, 15-11, to Zagunis, who would go on to win the gold medal. Shortly after, Ward fenced in the bronze medal bout, where she defeated Russia'sSofia Velikaya 15-14. This assured that American fencers would sweep all three medals prior to the actual final bout, in whichSada Jacobson faced Mariel Zagunis for the gold.In the women's sabre team event, the US was heavily favored to win the team event. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/feedarticle/7708520] [http://www.courant.com/sports/other/hc-jeffcol0810.artaug10,0,4601492.column?page=2] . Ward teamed up with Jacobson and Zagunis to defeat the South African team in the quarterfinals, 45-8. [http://www.nbcolympics.com/fencing/resultsandschedules/rsc=FEW403300/index.html]
In the Semifinals, they fenced the team from the Ukraine. The Ukranian side, seeded fifth in the tournament, defeated the favored US team 45-39, denying them a gold medal, and placing them in the bronze medal bout against France. [http://www.nbcolympics.com/fencing/resultsandschedules/rsc=FEW403200/index.html]
The USA team rebounded from their semifinal loss, by defeating the French team 45-38, with Ward making the final touch of the bout, and Ward earned her second bronze medal of the Olympics. [http://www.nbcolympics.com/fencing/resultsandschedules/rsc=FEW403100/index.html]
References
External links
*
* [http://oregonfencing.com/profiles/rebecca_ward.htm Rebecca Ward profile at Oregon Fencing Alliance]
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