St. John's University Athletics
Homer Earns Historic Medal at Senior World Championships
7/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
QUEENS, N.Y. - Former St. John's Fencing star Daryl Homer put his name in the history books on Tuesday by winning a silver medal at the Senior World Championships in Moscow and becoming the first U.S. man ever to win a medal in saber at Senior Worlds.
Homer, a 2012 London Olympian, joins an elite list of fencers as only two other U.S. men have ever won individual medals in any weapon at Senior Worlds - 2013 Senior World Champion Miles Chamley-Watson (New York City) and 2010 Senior World bronze medalist Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif.) - with both wins coming in foil.
"The interesting thing is that I've just been so amped about requalifying for the Olympic Games that it really hasn't sank in that I was second here yet," Homer said in an interview with USA Fencing. "It's really more about knowing that I'm 90 percent qualified for the Olympic Games now. Yes, it feels great seeing my name that close to the top, but it really hasn't sunk in yet."
Seeded ninth in the tournament, the Bronx, N.Y., native was ranked 10th in the world going into the competition. He recorded an impressive 15-6 win over Ahmed Amr (EGY) in the table of 64 before going on a five-touch run in the second period to help close out his second victory against Sandro Bazadze (GEO).
In the round of 16 Homer was challenged by Bolade Apithy (FRA) who went up 14-13 before Homer scored two touches to win the bout, 15-14.
Reaching the finals was no easy task from here as Homer squared off against World No. 1 Bongil Gu (KOR) in the quarterfinals. The two were tied at nine in the second period before Homer outscored the Korean, 6-2, for an impressive 15-11 win.
In the semifinals, the Red Storm alum faced familiar foe and two-time reigning Senior World bronze medalist Tiberiu Dolniceanu (ROU). The pair are frequent opponents with Homer holding a slight 3-2 edge in their rivalry. Again, Homer relied on heroics to win as he scored twice while down 14-13 to secure a 15-14 win and a position in the gold medal final round.
"Most of our matches go that way. He gets up early and I kind of claw my way back in. But it's about staying in the moment and fighting for touches you know you can get and putting yourself in high percentage situations," Homer told USA Fencing after the match.
Homer faced off against former World No. 1 Alexey Yakimenko (RUS) in the final round, but was unable to keep his momentum and lost the bout 15-5 to take home the silver medal.
On Thursday, Homer returns to action in the team event at Senior Worlds, where he will fence for a chance at another medal with U.S. teammates Eli Dershwitz (Sherborn, Mass.), Jeff Spear (Wynantskill, N.Y.) and Peter Souders (Silver Spring, Md.).
Homer looks to secure a bid to qualify for a second Olympic Team and hopes to reach the podium after placing sixth at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
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