As the second-ranked sabre fencer in the world, Eli Dershwitz was a medal favorite in the lead up to Tokyo. The 25-year-old breezed through the round of 32 with a 15-9 win over Japanese fencer Kaito Streets but failed to advance beyond the round of 16 after running into Kim Jung-Hwan (KOR).
SEE MORE: Fencing at the Tokyo Olympics
Jung-Hwan, who has a team sabre gold from 2012 and individual bronze from 2016, downed Dershwitz 15-9, eliminating the American before the quarterfinals. Dershwitz was the only member of Team USA in the round of 16 after Andrew Mackiewicz fell to top-ranked Oh Sanguk (KOR) 15-7 and Daryl Homer lost 15-11 to Mohamed Amer of Egypt.
Dershwitz made his first Olympic appearance in Rio but was eliminated in the opening round of competition. He, as well as Mackiewicz and Homer, have another shot at winning a medal in the men’s team sabre event which begins Wednesday.
