The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

Johnnies Take London by ‘Storm’ in Olympics

An earlier version of this article incorrectly said that Dagmara Wozniak defeated Sofia Velikaya in the women’s sabre quarterfinal.

Four members of the Red Storm family took part in this summer’s London Olympic games.

Two current fencers, Daryl Homer and Dagmara Wozniak, and their coach, Yury Gelman, represented the United States. Former track and field star Phobay Kutu-Akoi ran for her home country of Liberia in the 100m.

Gelman made his fourth coaching appearance at the Olympic Games this summer after coaching in the 2000, 2004, and 2008 games. His most noteworthy Olympic accomplishment came in ’08 after the U.S. men’s fencing team earned a silver medal in team sabre.

Daryl Homer, a Bronx native, had the most successful stint at the Games. In men’s individual sabre, Homer upset the No. 2 ranked fencer in the world, Alexsei Yakimenko of Russia in the round of 16 before bowing out of the competition in the quarterfinals to Rares Dumitrescu of Romania. Gelman said that he believes that Homer will be a favorite to take home gold when the Rio Games come around in 2016.

Dagmara Wozniak finished eighth in women’s sabre, losing in the quarterfinals to No. 2 ranked Sofia Velikaya.

She thanked her fans after her Games ended with a tweet: “Thank hou so much for everyones support! It means the world to me. Made top 8 at my first olympics def cant wait…”

Phobay Kutu-Akoi ran an 11.52 100-meter dash in her lone heat of the Olympic Games, .4 seconds off the pace needed to qualify for the semifinals

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

We love comments and feedback, but we ask that you please be respectful in your responses.
All The Torch Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *