James Williams Gains Silver in Olympic Team Sabre, Lions' Second in Two Days
8/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
BEIJING ? There was just one match remaining, one opportunity for James Williams to compete in Olympic fencing.
Williams had narrowly missed making the United States Men's Sabre Team for the Olympics. He accompanied the team as a replacement fencer (alternate), but was unable to crack the lineup of Keeth Smart (ex-St. John's), Tim Morehouse (Brandeis) or Jason Rogers (Ohio State) for the individual competition.
There was still the Men's Team Sabre competition, but the lightly-regarded Americans were given little chance of advancing.
Seeded seventh of eight (like the U.S. Women's Foil Team the previous day), the Americans took that as a challenge. They beat second-seeded Hungary, 45-44, and then shocked third-seeded Russia by the same score.
Suddenly it was the United States vs. defending Olympic champion France for the gold medal, and just as suddenly, the U.S. coaches tapped James Williams to join Smart and Morehouse in the lineup.
Given an Olympic "life", Williams didn't waste a moment. He went right after the French fencers.
The French took the initial lead as 2008 bronze medalist Julien Pillet defeated Morehouse, 5-1. Smart, the brother of Columbia All-American Erinn Smart '01BC, who had won silver in foil the previous day, took a 6-5 decision from Boris Sanson.
Williams fenced well against the highly-regarded Nicolas Lopez, barely losing, 5-3. After Morehouse fell to Sanson, 5-1, Williams was matched against Pillet.
"Surprisingly, I didn't feel very nervous," Williams said, as reported by Craig Harkins on Fencing.Net. "I was actually more nervous watching."
And he had a previous history with Pillet, coming within one touch of the French star at the Moscow World Cup during the winter, before losing 15-14.
This time, it was more of the same, as Williams halted the American slide when he drew with Pillet, 5-5. Smart followed his lead, also drawing with Lopez.
The French momentum was stopped only briefly, though. Sanson beat Williams, 5-2, and Lopez drew with Morehouse. Keeth Smart had led miracle comebacks in the Hungary and Russia upsets earlier, but he was too far back, and his 9-5 defeat of Pillet only brought the U.S. within 45-37 as the match concluded.
Still, it had been an historic result for the Americans.
"I heard a really interesting statistic today that said we are the first [American] men's fencing team in 15 years to come this far. To be a part of history in U.S. fencing is truly an honor," Keeth Smart said.
Four years after the American men's sabre team was eliminated from the Athens Olympics in two heartbreaking matches, there finally was redemption. “It's been four long years of heartache that we've had to relive over and over,” added Smart, who is leaving competitive fencing to enter Columbia Business School. “For us to go home with a silver medal is truly an honor.” It was the first medal for an American men's team since 1984.
Williams' gold medal-match performance permanently etched his name in the Ivy League record books. As researched by the Ivy League Office, he is the first Ivy League male to win an Olympic fencing medal in 60 years and the first to finish as high as second since 1904!
Williams, who resumes his graduate studies at Columbia next month ? he is in his second year as a Slavic Languages student ? could only shake his head. "It's all very surreal," he was quoted on Fencing.Net. "It hasn't really set in yet."
"The American performance was just unbelievable," Kolombatovich said. "To have two of our own coming home with silver medals, it's hard to explain how I feel. It's so fantastic; I'm exhilarated."
Kogler had a special stake in the U.S. Olympic success. Not only had he worked closely with Erinn Smart and James Williams when they were undergraduates, and Williams after graduation on his psychological approach to the Olympics, but he had actually given Keeth and Erinn Smart their introduction to the sport while serving as the coach at Brooklyn's Peter Westbrook Foundation when their parents brought them there to learn the sport.
Kogler, now Columbia's associate coach, also worked with Women's Team Foil silver medalist Emily Cross, a native New Yorker, at Manhattan's Fencers Club.
Williams had narrowly missed making the United States Men's Sabre Team for the Olympics. He accompanied the team as a replacement fencer (alternate), but was unable to crack the lineup of Keeth Smart (ex-St. John's), Tim Morehouse (Brandeis) or Jason Rogers (Ohio State) for the individual competition.
There was still the Men's Team Sabre competition, but the lightly-regarded Americans were given little chance of advancing.
Seeded seventh of eight (like the U.S. Women's Foil Team the previous day), the Americans took that as a challenge. They beat second-seeded Hungary, 45-44, and then shocked third-seeded Russia by the same score.
Suddenly it was the United States vs. defending Olympic champion France for the gold medal, and just as suddenly, the U.S. coaches tapped James Williams to join Smart and Morehouse in the lineup.
Given an Olympic "life", Williams didn't waste a moment. He went right after the French fencers.
The French took the initial lead as 2008 bronze medalist Julien Pillet defeated Morehouse, 5-1. Smart, the brother of Columbia All-American Erinn Smart '01BC, who had won silver in foil the previous day, took a 6-5 decision from Boris Sanson.
Williams fenced well against the highly-regarded Nicolas Lopez, barely losing, 5-3. After Morehouse fell to Sanson, 5-1, Williams was matched against Pillet.
"Surprisingly, I didn't feel very nervous," Williams said, as reported by Craig Harkins on Fencing.Net. "I was actually more nervous watching."
And he had a previous history with Pillet, coming within one touch of the French star at the Moscow World Cup during the winter, before losing 15-14.
This time, it was more of the same, as Williams halted the American slide when he drew with Pillet, 5-5. Smart followed his lead, also drawing with Lopez.
The French momentum was stopped only briefly, though. Sanson beat Williams, 5-2, and Lopez drew with Morehouse. Keeth Smart had led miracle comebacks in the Hungary and Russia upsets earlier, but he was too far back, and his 9-5 defeat of Pillet only brought the U.S. within 45-37 as the match concluded.
Still, it had been an historic result for the Americans.
"I heard a really interesting statistic today that said we are the first [American] men's fencing team in 15 years to come this far. To be a part of history in U.S. fencing is truly an honor," Keeth Smart said.
Four years after the American men's sabre team was eliminated from the Athens Olympics in two heartbreaking matches, there finally was redemption. “It's been four long years of heartache that we've had to relive over and over,” added Smart, who is leaving competitive fencing to enter Columbia Business School. “For us to go home with a silver medal is truly an honor.” It was the first medal for an American men's team since 1984.
Williams' gold medal-match performance permanently etched his name in the Ivy League record books. As researched by the Ivy League Office, he is the first Ivy League male to win an Olympic fencing medal in 60 years and the first to finish as high as second since 1904!
Williams, who resumes his graduate studies at Columbia next month ? he is in his second year as a Slavic Languages student ? could only shake his head. "It's all very surreal," he was quoted on Fencing.Net. "It hasn't really set in yet."
??
No one was more excited by the United States fencing success ? the Americans' total of six fencing medals was second only to Italy's seven ? than Columbia's coaches, George Kolombatovich and Dr. Aladar Kogler. Kolombatovich was delighted to awaken every morning at four or five a.m. in order to watch the streamed video matches live."The American performance was just unbelievable," Kolombatovich said. "To have two of our own coming home with silver medals, it's hard to explain how I feel. It's so fantastic; I'm exhilarated."
Kogler had a special stake in the U.S. Olympic success. Not only had he worked closely with Erinn Smart and James Williams when they were undergraduates, and Williams after graduation on his psychological approach to the Olympics, but he had actually given Keeth and Erinn Smart their introduction to the sport while serving as the coach at Brooklyn's Peter Westbrook Foundation when their parents brought them there to learn the sport.
Kogler, now Columbia's associate coach, also worked with Women's Team Foil silver medalist Emily Cross, a native New Yorker, at Manhattan's Fencers Club.
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