Vet Worlds 2024, Day 4: Redemption as Team USA Strikes Gold in Vet Team Women’s Foil

DUBAI — Team USA clinched its first Vet Team Women’s Foil world championship since 2017 on Monday at the 2024 Veteran Fencing World Championships, delivering a commanding performance and earning long-awaited redemption after two consecutive years of heartbreak in the finals.

The winning squad included Jane Carter (Marx Fencing Academy & Tanner City Fencers Club) and Julie Seal (Valkyrie Fencing Club) for Vet-50; George Love (Treasure Coast Fencing Club & Space Coast Olympic Fencing) and Kathleen Hermes (Fencers School of Connecticut) for Vet-60; and Jennette Starks-Faulkner (Connecticut Fencers Club & Marx Fencing Academy) and Anne-Marie Walters (Masters Fencing Club) for Vet-70.

After two straight years of Italy defeating Team USA in the gold medal final, this time it was top-seeded Germany standing in the way. But first, the U.S. squad advanced to the final with little trouble.

Their path to gold included pool wins over France and Italy, a quarterfinal defeat of Japan (26-18), and a semifinal victory over Great Britain (30-14).

In that semifinal, Seal contributed 14 of Team USA’s 30 points.

“I’m really grateful to be on this team with this superb group of ladies,” Seal says. “Everyone here was amazing and supportive and did their job. And especially thanks to our coaches, Michael Marx and Mark Stasinos, who really did lead our team all the way through.”

Walters, who added the team gold to her Vet-70 Women’s Foil gold from the previous day, praised the collective effort.

“Everybody knew what they had to do,” she says. “And we accomplished that goal.”

Walters also acknowledged Dr. Peggy Chin, USA Fencing’s director of sports medicine.

“She took care of our injuries, and she put us in this position to win the gold,” Walters says.

“Everybody’s wearing a KT [tape] suit,” Seal adds with a laugh.

The gold medal was one of four earned by Team USA on Day 4 of Vet Worlds, extending the team’s medal tally to 20, the most of any nation.

In Vet-50 Men’s Foil, Rafael Suárez (Masters Fencing Club) earned bronze, marking a comeback after Team USA was shut out of medals in this event in 2023. Suárez repeated his result from the 2022 Vet Worlds in Croatia.

Team USA also claimed two bronzes in Vet-70 Men’s Foil. Philippe Bennett (Fencers Club) earned his first medal in his sixth Vet Worlds, while Joseph Streb (Columbus International Fencing Academy & Royal Arts FC) took home his seventh overall Vet Worlds medal. Five of Streb’s medals have been in saber, and this was his second in foil, adding to his 2016 bronze.

It marked the first time in Vet Worlds history that Team USA had two Vet-70 Men’s Foil medalists in the same year.