Bob Largman, team leader for the U.S. Olympic fencing team, shares a moment with first lady Laura Bush at the opening ceremonies. Largman, a resident of Morris Township, is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the team, including security, logistical, and operational support.
August 21, 2008
On the first day of competition in Beijing, the USA women’s saber fencers swept the medals, a feat that may never be duplicated.
Mariel Zagunis defeated Sada Jacobson to repeat as Olympic gold medalist. Jacobson’s silver was an improvement from her bronze in Athens, but not the medal she expected.
Becca Ward earned the bronze with a titillating 15-14 victory over Russian Sophia Velikaia.
To add to the surreal moment, President George H.W. Bush attended the medal ceremony and sat two seats away from me. For the record, I was to the “right” of the president.
Not short of chutzpa, I immediately started a conversation with him. We talked about striper fishing in Kennebunkport, golf, and politics. He was most interested in Jacobson, as they are both Yale alumni. When the three fencers came over from the podium to greet the president in the stands, the disappointed Jacobson — again, an Olympic bridesmaid — was crying. Seeing this, President Bush reached for his handkerchief and handed it to her. It lightened the mood.
I know that hundreds of photos appeared around the world, both in print and on the Internet, with the two of us taking in the historic moment as “The Star-Spangled Banner” was played and the three American flags were raised to the top of the fencing venue. These were the first medals for the United States at the 2008 Games, and the young ladies were instant superstars. The next day, they were taken around on a media blitz and did themselves proud.
Incredibly, after a 24-hour window to enjoy the rarified air, it was right back to practice. After a two-day break, it would be time for the team event. As you can imagine, we were the prohibitive favorite.
The team was seeded No. 1 going into Beijing and had just demolished the field in the individual competition. However, this added to the pressure and put the team in a perverse no-win situation. They were expected to win the gold; anything less would be considered a failure.
We faced an identical scenario at the 2006 World Championships in Turin, Italy. The three swept the medals there as well. As it turned out, they were burned out for the team event. It is almost impossible to recover psychologically in such a short timeframe and perform at your peak again.
In Beijing, sadly, history would repeat itself.
After a walkover against South Africa, we would face Ukraine in the semifinals. Ukraine had just beaten Russia quite easily and appeared to be in top form. Unfortunately for us, Jacobson was the only one who fenced well. Zagunis and Ward just weren’t in their zone, and even Jacobson’s great effort wasn’t enough. We can usually overcome one fencer having a bad match, but on this day two fencers struggled mightily.
A pall was cast over the arena, particularly in the section where American friends, family, and teammates were sitting. Everyone was shocked. The gold was lost; history was lost. What appeared to be a winning lottery ticket was not cashed in.
The match ended around 12:30. The bronze medal match would start at 6. That would allow for a proper mourning period before the fencers needed to regroup against the No. 2 seeded French team, which lost to China.
Jacobson continued her great fencing and Zagunis rebounded from her earlier difficulties. But it was Ward who dominated the French and led the team to the bronze.
However, there still was no joy in Mudville.
Incredibly, an Olympic medal was not welcomed with open arms. Yes, it was far better than fourth. Yes, it was in the record books. But it was not the gold medal everyone had expected.
This is the nature of sport: Upsets happen all the time. Often in the past we have been the team doing the upsetting. However there was something so sad about seeing the disappointment on the faces of these wonderful young athletes. All three were to leave Beijing with two Olympic medals, yet on this night the mood was funereal.
At the end of the day, the saddest, by far, was Sada. In Athens and Beijing, she arrived as the top seed. She fenced well and did not choke by any means. In Athens Sada was beaten by eventual silver medalist Tan Xue of China, and in Beijing she lost to two-time champion Zagunis. Add to that the team bronze and Jacobson has a trio of Olympic medals. One can only feel for a champion who was been on the Olympic podium three times and never enjoyed it for one second.
Maybe someday she will be able to reflect on this extraordinary time of her life and take solace in having done her best. If not, her remarkable sacrifice and commitment will have been for naught.
While this will be my final competition after six years as fencing team captain, I have one more job to do. And that will be to convince Sada and her two fencing sisters Emily (2004 Olympian) and Jackie (NCAA All-American) to take part in next summer’s World Maccabiah Games in Israel.
In direct contrast to the one-dimensional Olympics, the Maccabiah combines sport, culture, and Jewish heritage. It is there where medals aren’t the end-all. And it is an experience after which all the athletes — win or lose — leave Israel with a smile on their faces.
Jeffrey Bukantz, a resident of Montville and inductee of the JCC MetroWest Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, is captain of the U.S. Olympic fencing team for the 2008 Games.
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