Fencing Preview: Full slate of action at Fencing Hall

(BEIJING, August 8) -- The Fencing competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will start with the Women's Individual Sabre. Among the favorites are the United States Sada Jacobson, Rebecca Ward and Mariel Zagunis. China's Tan Xue, with a home crowd behind her, may improve on her silver medal performance in Athens.

In Men's Individual Epee, Silvio Fernandez of Venezuela leads the current Federation Internationale d'Escrime (FIE) world rankings. Favorites for the medal spots are reigning world champion Krisztian Kulcsar of Hungary, Jerome Jeannet of France and Matteo Tagliariol of Italy. China's Wang Lei took the silver medal at the Athens 2004 Olympics and was world champion in 2006.

Italians Luigi Tarantino and reigning Olympic champion Aldo Montano lead the field of potential medallists in the Men's Individual Sabre.

Other medal contenders in this Men's Sabre are Russian superstar Stanislav Pozdniakov, the world champion in 2007; World No.1 Nicolas Limbach of Germany; Mihai Covaliu of Romania; Oh Eunseok of the Republic of Korea; Spaniards Jaime Marti and Jorge Pina; Zsolt Nemcsik of Hungary; and Zhong Man of China.

Three-time world champion Peter Joppich of Germany is the one to watch in the Men's Individual Foil. His most dangerous opponents are likely to be teammate Benjamin Kleibrink, Italians Andrea Cassara and Salvatore Sanzo, Erwan Le Pechoux of France and Lei Sheng of China.

The Olympic fencing tournament will be held from August 9 through August 17 at the Fencing Hall of the National Convention Center.