Massialas Makes USA History

SEOUL, South Korea – Stanford sophomore fencer Alexander Massialas and his USA teammate Race Imboden became the first Team USA duo to ever finish first and second at a Men’s Foil World Cup on Saturday in Seoul, South Korea.

The two Americans went head-to-head for the title with Massialas capturing his first career gold medal on the senior tour. He bested Imboden, who is ranked No. 11 in the world, by a score of 15-11 in the finals. It was the ninth medal for a top three finish in senior events for the San Francisco native, but first time he has been at the top of the podium.

Along with Imboden, Massialas defeated four of the top 25 fencers in the world en route to his gold medal. His biggest victory came against the No. 2 fencer in the world, Alexey Cheremisinov of Russia in the round of 16.

It took two 15-14 victories to advance through the final field of 64 competitors. The first came against No. 16 Ryo Miyake of Japan in the round of 32 and the second against Cheremisinov in the round of 16.

Leading up to the finals, Massialas knocked out Ghislain Perrier from Brazil, 15-10, in the semifinals. He was able to move past No. 9 Enzo Lefort of France in the quarterfinals, 15-10 as well.

Massialas went a perfect 6-0 in his pool play matches on Friday.

The 32 points for winning the title put Massialas’ 2013-14 total at 65. The most points he has accumulated on the senior circuit was 121 during the 2011-12 campaign.

The next event on the senior men’s foil tour is the Grand Prix in Tokyo next weekend.