Americans who swept sabre event now face media

AP PhotoThe first U.S. medals awarded at the Olympics were to three members of the U.S. women's fencing team. The trio completely swept the sabre fencing category.

Our Beijing crew got the chance to talk to the medal trio, and it was one of the biggest interview scrums we've seen in a long time. Luckily, the girls we're very patient with us.

Mariel Zagunis has won gold in the sabre event the past two Olympics. After a sleepless night came the relentless round of interviews for her and her teammates.

Here at NBC Newschannel, Beijing, which serves all the NBC affiliates like KSL, we caught up to the three medal winners on our rooftop live-shot location.

It was a few autographs, and then more interviews for Zagunis, Sada Jacobson and Becca Ward.

Jennifer Crouteau with NBC Newschannel guided the girls through the media circus. "Nobody was going to mess with me," she said. "[You've] got to go in with a plan. Hey, bringing the athletes through is its own Olympic event in TV land!"

It's hard work for the athletes to get around to all the media outlets. The athletes agreed that today's media blitz was harder than what they went through yesterday, then joked that maybe the "light at the end of the tunnel" they were seeing was just another camera light.

Forget shop, it is talk until they drop. But the athletes were excited to be there together and excited to give the sport of fencing more exposure.

Ward, who won the bronze in the sabre says, "Oh, it's great to have media. It's great that you guys are here."

The girls get another chance for medals Thursday in the team event.

There are two Utah fencing coaches, Julie Seal and Bethany Andrews, who are friends and former teammates of the American medal trio. If any young people are interested in training in fencing in Utah, log on to www.utahfencing.org.

E-mail: tkirkland@ksl.com

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