HAVANA, Cuba, June 16, 2018—USA fencers scored a double-gold win on the second day of the Pan American Zonal Fencing Championships in Havana, Cuba. Race Imboden, ranked first in the world, won the individual men’s foil event and Kelley Hurley won women’s epee. The combined events had more than 110 fencers from throughout the Americas. In all, six days and 12 individual and team competitions will take place, hosted at Havana’s Coliseum of the Sports City.
Imboden took on Canadian Maximilien Van Haaster in the final round of men’s individual foil, winning with a final score of 15-8 and successfully defending his title from 2017 at the same event. Van Haaster beat USA’s Gerek Meinhardt in the semi-final, 15-9, while Imboden defeated his teammate, world second-ranked and Olympic silver medallist Alexander Massialas, 15-12.
In a close finish, Hurley overtook Argentina’s Isabel Di Tella for the individual women’s epee event, 15-14. Di Tella topped Cuba’s Yamilka Rodriguez Quesada in the semi-final, 15-10, and Hurley beat Canada’s Shan Guo Zi in the same round, 15-12.
The overall top-eight ranking for men’s individual foil at the Pan American Zonal Fencing Championships includes Race Imboden (USA, gold), Maximilien Van Haaster (CAN, silver), Alexander Massialas (USA, bronze), Gerek Meinhardt (USA, bronze), Daniel Sconzo (COL), Heitor Shimbo (BRA), Henrique Marques (BRA) and Gustavo Alarcon (CHI).
The top-eight rankings from individual women’s epee include Kelley Hurley (USA, gold), Isabel Di Tella (ARG, silver), Shan Guo Zi (CAN, bronze), Yamilka Rodriguez Quesada (CUB, bronze), Nathalie Moellhausen (BRA), Malinka Hoppe Montanaro (CAN), Maria Martinez (VEN) and Elizabeth Medina (MEX).
Full results from the Pan American Zonal Fencing Championships may be found here for the men’s and here for the women’s events.