(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – On a day in which only four nations put athletes into the top 16, Team USA boasted three finishers in the round of 16 at the Torino Women’s Foil Grand Prix in Italy on Saturday.
London Olympians Lee Kiefer (Lexington, Ky.) and Nicole Ross (New York City, N.Y.) and two-time Senior World Team member Sabrina Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.) finished ninth, 12th and 14th, respectively.
Exempt from pools, Kiefer fenced Charlotte Krause (GER) in the table of 64 on Saturday and scored nine unanswered touches in just under two minutes to open the bout. Krause picked up two touches to stay in the bout before Kiefer scored the final touch at the start of the second period to take a 15-2 win.
In the table of 32, Kiefer and Valentina Cipriani (ITA) exchanged touches, but it was Kiefer who pulled away first, going on a 5-2 run to take a 12-8 lead going into the start of the second period. Kiefer went on to take the bout, 15-10, in the second.
Kiefer fenced Adelina Zagidullina (RUS) in the table of 16. While Kiefer held a 9-6 lead midway through the bout, Zagidullina scored four straight to take a one-touch lead at the break. With the score tied at 11 in the second period, Zagidullina scored four of the next five touches to win the bout, 15-12. Read more...
photo: Augusto Bizzi