USA Military Fencing Growing
10/11/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Fencing
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Seth Kelsey placed highest individually, finishing in fourth place with 28 victories. Orcutt placed 18th in the event, finishing with 11 victories. Runyan finished ninth with five victories, Chilen finished 19th with 19 victories and Chad Senior finished 29th with 12 victories. Overall, the epee team placed eighth, while the foil team, joined by Chilen, captured the bronze medal behind Italy and Holland.
"The competition was hard but there was a very friendly atmosphere," said Abdel Salem, coach of the military fencing team. "We were pleasantly surprised by the comments from the other delegations regarding how much the USA military fencing team has improved. The USA team proved that we are going in the right direction. With our solid results and improvement, the Military Sports Council will continue its support of the fencing team."
The United States Armed Forces enables the top fencers to achieve their goals by enrolling them in a world-class program that allows them the time off to travel, train and participate in the various national and international competitions. Next year's fencing CISM will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
COACH SALEM on VITARBO
"Viterbo is a small town, about a one-hour drive from Rome. The Italians were good hosts and fun people. There was a wonderful opening ceremony. The final was held in the street, a narrow typically Italian place with an atmosphere reminiscent of dueling. While many residents of Viterbo watched the final from the windows of their apartments, others were seated in bleachers that had been erected for the occasion. Needless to say, the Italian team was a strong team."
COACH SALEM on ITALIAN FOOD and FUN
"What the Italian Military Base at Viterbo lacked in accommodations it more than made up for in cuisine. The food was great. Each night there was a pool party. Our hosts took all the fencers to the beach and one night the mayor of Viterbo held a street dinner for all the delegations. They presented everyone with a bottle of fine Italian Wine, packaged to take home. The dinner was followed by a concert in the town square where all the fencers had the chance to dance with other fencers and the numerous townsfolk that came to enjoy the concert. Our stay in Viterbo gave everyone a real taste of Italy. On the last day, some fencers went to visit Rome others stayed to enjoy a final night in the small Italian town of Viterbo."
