American fencer Tatiana Nazlymov was eliminated in her opening game of the women's saber amid a "cloud of suspicion" over alleged match fixing during qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics .
Nazlymov fell narrowly on points 15-14 in the round of 32 to Korean fencer Choi Se-bin, who finds herself still alive and in the final four of the competition.
This comes following a drawn-out legal proceeding in the wake of alleged " favoritism " throughout Nazlymov's qualification. Men's American saber fencer Mitchell Saron, who lost in the round of 16, was also mentioned in the case. Monday did not prove to be a fruitful day for the American women in Paris: Magda Skarbonkiewicz and Elizabeth Tartakovsky also fell in the round of 32 to their opponents from Turkey and Egypt, respectively.
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Two fencers filed a complaint against Nazlymov under a procedure known as Section 9. One of them was from Maia Chamberlain, an alternate on the US Women 's Saber team who would have been elevated into a starting position had Nazlymov been suspended.
This came after the chief excutive of USA fencing, Phil Andrews, send a letter to the International Fencing Federation voicing concerns over "improper officiating" and "a likely favoritism."
The favoritism may be tied to Nazlymov's extensive roots in the sport. Her grandfather, Vladimir Nazlymov, won three Olympic gold medalist in fencing with the Soviet Union before launching a lengthy coaching career for both the American national team and the Ohio State national team. His spell with the Buckeyes was littered with NCAA violations.
The referees from the qualifying tournament in question, Jacobo Morales and Brandon Romo, were both suspended . Both were alleged to be seen conferring during Nazalymov's qualifying match in addition to giving questionable calls.
However, the case was dismissed by an arbitor, who confirmed: “No evidence was offered to show that Ms. Nazlymov was in any way personally involved in any kind of bout manipulation or attempted to gain an advantage through referee misconduct.
"Multiple witnesses admitted that certain referee calls could have gone either way, that contests could not be re-scored after the contests, and reasonable and welltrained referees often differ on calls especially those made in real time without the assistance of video replay."
Andrews, the chief executive of US fencing, u-turned from his initial "favoritism" comments: "w e respect the right of those Fencers who went through the Section 9 process and are mindful of the emotional strain the process puts on all parties.... our commitment to transparency and integrity in our sport remains steadfast."
Prior to the games, Chamberlain stated that "as of now, we're focused on just competing in the games and trying our best to have a fantastic {Olympic Games}."
It hasn't been all doom and gloom for US fencing at the Paris games. American Lee Kiefer defeated fellow American Lauren Scruggs in the final of the women's foil as the pair took home gold and silver medals.
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