.jpg)
| <<< Oct 02, 2007 | Oct 04, 2007 >>> |
|
I Flew All the Way to Russia…
…and all I got to fence was another American! That had to be running through the minds of Cody Mattern and Benjamin Ungar today when they had to face off in the round of 64. Not a nice, easy trip to an NAC in Columbus…this was the World Champs in the land of borscht. For all I know, the two are best buds…bosom teammates and all. However; there was precious little glasnost between the two once they hit the piste. Cody draws a yellow card for jostling. A few points later, Benjamin is working the ref, pantomiming a blow to the mask. He gets nowhere with that appeal, but just a few actions later, Mattern launches Ungar airborne straight backwards. Instant red card, Ungar's touch stands. Cody was up 10-7 at that point. Before long, it’s 14-all, and again, Cody comes forward seriously off balance, and rams into Ungar. The ref walks to the video review, consults, and produces another red card. Game over. Cody is left shaking his head. Soren Thompson also has a head shaker in the 64. He faces Denis Bade of Finland, and leads comfortably for most of the match, keeping a 9-8 lead going into the final period. Bade keeps chipping away, and begins scoring on the second and third action of each exchange. He takes the lead 13-14, Soren fights back to knot it at 14-all. Then, Soren takes a nice parry, his riposte draws nary a light, and the Finnish remise finishes the bout. The biggest mental mistake of the day may have taken place during Seth Kelsey’s round of 16 bout with #3 seed Eric Boisse of France. Here’s the story, as relayed by a Fencing Pictures observer: Seth was up by a point near the end of the match. With little time left, Boisse stops dead and lowers his weapon, like he’s waiting for the period to end, so they can go to priority. Inexplicably, Seth does the same. The ref waits a couple of beats and calls passivity. Yellow cards for both. But wait: Seth forgets he already has a yellow. Instant point to Boisse, tied score, look of utter disbelief on Seth’s face. One has to wonder about Seth’s corner coaches, and why they weren’t screaming for him to resume fencing. It goes to priority, and the Frenchman puts Seth away. "The French, they are very experienced...and very tricky," notes the observer. Heartbreak of the day goes to Estonian Nikolai Novosjolov. He’s tied 13-13 with Russian Anton Avdeev. Time is running out. He retreats, he ripostes, he scores, he wins!! The ref signals the victory, and the two unhook and begin to leave the strip. But wait! The replay ref has noticed that both fencers clearly launched their final actions with their rear foot way off the strip. The point is annulled, the two hook back up, and Avdeev wastes no time firing up the raucous Russian audience. One advance, one thrust, one light, one very distraught Estonian. Sweetest touch of the day came in the first round between Russian Igor Tourchine and Swedish fencer Robert Dingl. Tourchine lunges forward, going for a toe touch. Dingl counters with a stab at the back of the nearly prone Russian. But it’s only a feint! As soon as Dingl begins his counter, Tourchine, still bent horizontal to the strip, flicks up a lefty parry and drops his tip right on the outstretched leg of the incredulous right-handed Swede. Tourchine gets up and walks away with an unmistakable “Yeah, I meant to do that!” swagger. Tomorrow, women’s foil. I’m off for a day of sightseeing. I wonder how good the security is around the Faberge eggs in the Hermitage museum? I could use a few souvenirs….. By Bill Ward |