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Tuesday, September 19
Fencing Fan Guide
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IN THE CROSSHAIRS |
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ESPN.com puts Olympic fencing In the Crosshairs with our interactive fan guide feature. Check out each sport's fan guide for more In the Crosshairs looks at the Olympic sports.
Fencing in the Crosshairs
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Olympic competition dates: Sept. 16-24
Venue: Sydney Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour
The outlook
Russian men won five of the six events, including four
gold, two silver and a bronze, at Atlanta. Each competition has a
single-elimination format. Teams consist of three fencers, and each
duels each member of the opposing team. Event has been part of the
Olympics since the first modern games in 1896.
Two sisters - Iris and Felicia Zimmermann - help make up the United States women's foil team. Ann Marsh is the third member of the team. Foilist Cliff Bayer, ranked ninth in the world, is the man with the best chance to win a medal for the United States in the European-dominated sport.
The finer points
Equipment: Competition takes place on a piste, which is 5 feet 10 inches wide and more than 45 feet long. Weapons are the foil, épée and sabre. Each has a flexible steel blade and is wired to record hits electronically. The foil and épée are similarly shaped, but the épée is a little heavier and stiffer. The sabre has a V-shaped blade. Hits may be made with the sabre's point, the front edge or the last third of its back edge.
Target areas: In the tradition of the duel, the épée allows the entire body to be a target. Foil targets the torso area, which excludes the arms, head, neck and legs. Calvary style fighting influences the sabre target area that extends from the waist to the top of the head.
Format: Men compete in all three weapons while women compete only in foil and épée. Individual events are fought on a direct-elimination draw. The first fencer to score 15 hits wins. Each bout is limited to nine minutes of actual fencing time.
In team competition, each fencer faces the opponent's three fencers, but scoring is done on a relay basis. The first two fencers fight until one scores 5 points. The next two take over the score at that point and continue until one fencer has 10 points. The cycle continues until one team scores 45 points.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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