Free Mariel Zagunis Screensaver

Mariel Zagunis Free Screensaver

Mariel Leigh Zagunis (born March 3, 1985 in Beaverton, Oregon) is an American Olympic sabre fencer, of Lithuanian heritage. She won the gold medals in the individual sabre at the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics. Zagunis is the daughter of Olympians. Her parents, Robert and Cathy Zagunis, were collegiate rowers, at Oregon State University and Connecticut College, respectively, before competing with the U.S. rowing team at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. The Women s Sabre event was being contested for the first time at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Zagunis faced Chinese fencer Xue Tan in the finals, and became the first American to win an Olympic fencing gold medal in 100 years, Zagunis entered the 2008 Summer Olympics seeded sixth. In the gold medal match, Zagunis faced the other top seed in the tournament, Sada Jacobson, and won, 15-8. With Ward s victory in the bronze medal match, fencers from the USA had won all three medals in the individual event.