Fencing – Pan American Championships
Philippe Beaudry top Quebec fencer at Mont-Tremblant
Places sixth in men’s sabre
Montreal, August 29, 2007 (Sportcom) – It was a tough day for Quebec fencers in men’s sabre and women’s foil competition on Wednesday at the Pan American fencing championships. Philippe Beaudry of Montreal posted the best result finishing sixth in men’s sabre. He lost in the quarterfinal to Timothy Morehouse of the U.S.
Keeth Smart led the U.S., to a triple medal performance with the gold followed by Morehouse while their compatriot Jason Rogers and Carlos Brazo of Venezuela won the bronze medal bouts.
Beaudry was 2-2 in the preliminaries then beat Michel Boulos of Candiac, Que., in the round of 16 by a 15-11 score before losing 15-7 to Morehouse.
‘’Battling your teammate is never easy,’’ said Beaudry. ‘Because we know each other so well it’s hard to catch your opponent off guard. Michel was strong and the score was close until the finish. My intensity and concentration were strong. I gave my all.
‘’I’m disappointed with my final placing. The intensity was there but I made too many tactical errors, I counted at least five during the match. I had an offensive advantage at the start but Morehouse caught on quickly and I wasn’t able to regain control. But it was a valuable experience and there’s a good chance we’ll face each other again next season.’’
Nicolas Mayer of Montreal lost a 15-12 heartbreaker to Renzo Pasqual Agresta of Brazil in the round of 16 to finish ninth, Boulos was 11th and Mark Peros of Ontario 15th.
‘’The guys were not focused,’’ said national team coach Jean-Marie Banos. ‘’They couldn’t keep pace in the most difficult matches. It’s mostly a lack of concentration, they were well prepared. The guys are ready. They need to believe in themselves and get involved.
‘’Philippe tried too hard against the American. He focused more on the physical part and forgot about his strategy and tactics.’’
‘’I was hoping we’d have three swordsmen in the quarterfinals,’’ said Banos. ‘’We need to regroup for the team competition on Friday. It’s our most important competition.’’
The competition counts towards the Canadian fencing team’s Olympic selection process. All the participating countries have fielded their top national team athletes. In the men’s sabre team event, Canada can improve its chances for an Olympic berth with a win over the U.S.
In women’s foil, Canada’s Jujie Luan and Emily Cross of the U.S., won the bronze medal bouts. Luan lost in the first round to Marianny Rincones of Venezuela 15-0 then defeated her compatriot Monica Kwan 15-13. Luan, the 1984 Olympic champion, lost to Erinn Smart of the U.S., in the semifinal. Smart went on to defeat her compatriot Hann Thompson for the gold.
Anne-Claude Therrien of Repentigny, Que., posted Quebec’s best result placing 11th. She was 3-3 in the prelims then lost 15-6 to Cross. Élise Daoust of Montreal was 2-4 in the prelims. Then she defeated Flavia Jo Mormandi of Argentina 15-10 in the first round before losing 12-9 to Smart for 16th place.
Team competition in women’s sabre and epee and men’s foil is scheduled for Thursday. Canadians in action are Sandra Sassine, Julie Cloutier, Wendy Saschenbrecker and Olga Ovtchinnikova in sabre, Joshua McGuire, Nicolas Teisseire, Marek Wojcik and Julien Gaudreau-Pollender in foil and Sherraine Schalm, Julie Leprohon, Ainsley Switzer and Catherine Dunnette in epee.
Competition continues through to Friday.
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