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Saturday, September 23
Italians hold off Poland to take team foil
Reuters
SYDNEY, Australia -- Favorite Italy claimed
Olympic gold in the women's team foil on Saturday after their
policewoman star had stamped her authority on the precocious
Polish opposition.
Valentina Vezzali, so named because she was born on St
Valentine's Day, went into the last bout with the Italians just
ahead 35-33.
With 10 swift touches with her foil, Vezzali sewed up the match.
The final score of 45-36 flattered the experienced
Italians, who had earlier looked as though they might succumb
to three young Polish students.
But Vezzali, newly crowned Olympic champion in the
individual foil event, helped avoid what would have been one of
the biggest upsets of Olympic fencing.
Poland's silver was their first medal of the Games.
The Germans took bronze after finally silencing the
Americans, the noisiest team in the competition.
Vezzali, who can never seem to make up her mind about her
hair color -- it switches from brunette to peroxide blonde and
bright red -- looked equally indecisive as she opened the match
for the Italians, going down 2-5 in her bout with Sylwia
Gruchala.
Two bouts later, the Italian team, which also includes
bronze individual medalist Giovanna Trillini, was down 10-15.
Trillini's trademark flashing lunge wrenched the match
around in the next duel. She scored 10 touches to make it
20-19, and the Poles never managed to take back the lead.
Polish martial valor was on display when Magdalena
Mroczkiewicz tumbled head first off the fencing platform as she
slashed at Vezzali, scoring a touch.
Moments after Vezzali's victory, she disappeared beneath a
pile of teammates and coaches who dived on her and then tossed
her in the air in celebration.
"I'm dedicating my gold medal to my Mama," she told
reporters.
Her previous gold was dedicated to her original coach and
mentor, Enzo Tricolli, who died a few months before the 1996
Atlanta Games.
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