ABOUT THE SPORT: The three weapon classes - foil, epee and sabre - are as different as their names. The foil (3 feet, 6 inches, 1.1 pounds) has a lightweight flexible blade with quick movements, while the epee (3-7, 1.7 pounds) is a more traditional fighting sword. The sabre (3-foot-5.3, a few ounces less than the foil) is characterized by slashing, thrusting motions and is known as a cutting weapon. Because of the different skills involved with each weapon, Olympic-level fencers generally choose to compete in one specialty.
AMERICA'S BEST: An American woman never has won a medal, but that could change with the debut of the women's individual sabre. Sada Jacobson, 21, is ranked No.1 in the world in the event. Her 18-year-old sister, Emily, is 10th. Sada placed 12th at her first World Championship in 2001 and fifth at the 2002 and 2003 World Championships. At 17, Sada helped the U.S. women's sabre team win gold at the 2000 Sabre Worlds, the first fencing world championship by a U.S. team at any level.
WORLD BEST: The Russian men appear strong enough to win its fourth consecutive sabre title. It would be the longest gold-medal streak in Russia's Olympic fencing history. The Hungarian team holds the record with seven consecutive team sabre golds, a streak that ended in 1964 when the Soviet Union took gold. ... Italy's Giovanna Trillini could add to her medal total. Besides collecting four consecutive golds with her foil team, she has a chance to add to her individual medals, which include one gold (1992) and two bronzes (1996 and 2000). If Trillini gets another gold, she would break the career record for women's fencing. Trillini shares the record of four with Russian Yelena Belova Novikova, who won hers in 1968, 1972 and 1976.
FROM THE BEGINNING: The founder of the modern Olympic Games, Pierre de Coubertin, was a fencer.
