With confirmation of the teams that will take part in the fencing tournament at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games – the individual sports continue to be contested – the presence of a genuine star of the piste has been confirmed. After the USA sabre team booked its place in Brazil last weekend, the US Olympic Committee confirmed that Mariel Zagunis would be part of the side.

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It will be her fourth Olympic appearance and she will be on a mission to reclaim the gold medal which escaped her at London 2012. Zagunis’s story could be a Hollywood script. Her parents, Robert and Cathy, represented the United States in rowing at Montreal 1976 and in 2004, at the tender age of 19, she got a surprise chance to follow in their footsteps.

She had accepted missing out on the Games in Athens, but with two weeks to go Nigeria announced its withdrawal from the individual sabre event. Next in line according to the International Fencing Federation’s (FIE) rankings, Zagunis took one of the two vacated spots and fenced her way to a shock gold medal, becoming the first US fencer to win Olympic gold in 100 years.
 

Zagunis celebrates her surprise gold medal in Athens (Photo: Getty Images/Andreas Rentz)

Zagunis wan’t finished there. At Beijing 2008, ranked sixth in the world, she defended her individual title and helped the US to bronze in the team event. Her exploits earned her the role of flag-bearer for the US team at the London 2012 Olympic Games. However, on the piste, results were not as expected, as she finished in fourth place. At Rio 2016, she will fight to return to the top of the podium.
 

Zagunis carries the USA flag at the London 2012 opening ceremony (Photo: Getty Images/Ezra Shaw)

“Competing in four Olympics is a huge honour and I am looking forward to making my family, coach, team and country proud as I go for the gold this summer”

Mariel Zagunis

Learn the fencing basics with Zagunis...

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Qualifed for the Rio 2016 Olympic fencing team events

WOMEN

Epée:  Romania, China, Russia, Estonia, Republic of Korea, USA, Ukraine, France

Sabre: Russia, Ukraine, France, USA, Republic of Korea, Italy, Mexico, Poland

MEN

Epée: France, Ukraine, Italy, Switzerland, Russia, Republic of Korea, Venezuela, Hungary

Foil: Russia, Italy, France, USA, China, Britain, Egypt, Brazil

Follow the race to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Rio2016.com is not an absolute authority on qualification for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is an ongoing process. Final places will only be confirmed in July 2016 (for the Olympic Games) and August 2016 (for the Paralympic Games). The qualification systems are defined by each sport’s respective International Federation and the International Olympic Committee or International Paralympic Committee, and are subject to change. When an athlete or team wins a quota place for their nation, the final decision on whether this ‘slot’ is used and which athletes are sent is taken by the respective National Olympic Committee or National Paralympic Committee (NOC or NPC). Even when athletes win a ‘nominal’ place for themselves, NOCs/NPCs may have to decide who to send if the number of qualified athletes from one country exceeds the quota.