RIO DE JANEIRO (August 10) – Aron Szilagyi (HUN) successfully defended his Olympic title on Wednesday, defeating Daryl Homer (USA) by a score of 15-8 in the final of the men’s individual sabre.
Szilagyi, 26, raced ahead in a lightning-fast final at the Carioca Arena 3, and was on the brink of victory at 14-6.
Homer, the world No. 10, rallied, but the comeback was snuffed out two points later as Szilagyi scored the final touch with a slash across his opponent’s chest.
"The first [gold] was unbelievable for me, it came from nowhere. I was sixth in the
ranking and 22 years old, very young, but this one I knew how much I worked for it,
how much I suffered in my trainings for four years."
- Aron Szilagyi (HUN)
Homer adds the medal to the silver he won at the 2014 world championships in Moscow.
"I'm elated. I worked really, really hard for this, ever since I finished second in worlds
(world championships) last year. I really wanted to get back on the podium here, so I
haven't even had time to think about it yet. "
- Daryl Homer (USA)
The bronze medal was won by two-time Asian champion Junghwan Kim (KOR), the world No. 3. The 32-year-old fencer beat Mojtaba Abedini (IRI), the world No. 15, by a score of 15-8.
It was Kim’s second Olympic medal after taking the team title with South Korea in London, while Abedini made history with the best-ever Olympic performance by an Iranian fencer in any weapon.
"I was patient, I found my opponent's weakness and it really worked well. It's a dream
to be the medallist in the Olympics."
- Junghwan Kim (KOR)
CLICK HERE FOR FINAL STANDINGS
For more information, visit http://www.fie.org
Links: More on fencing from Olympic.org
Check out the Rio 2016 fencing section
Or the dedicated FIE Rio portal