PARIS, France — Early Saturday morning, the No. 5-seeded Team USA secured a fifth-place spot in women's Olympic team sabers final.
The team included Portland's Magda Skarbonkiewicz, who helped the team secure fifth place while facing off against Hungary.
The team was off to a weak start, with Skarbonkiewicz losing her first bout of the round, but Team USA quickly turned things around.
In the ninth and final bout of the round, Skarbonkiewicz pushed her team over the edge, winning the bout 5-2, beating Hungary 45-39 and netting a fifth-place finish.
Skarbonkiewicz was born in Portland and has been fencing since she was 6 years old. Skarbonkiewicz has won four total gold medals, as she is the two-time Junior Fencing World Champion and has won the Pan American games twice.
She specifically competes in saber, one of the three disciplines of fencing.
Skarbonkiewicz is a part of the Oregon Fencing Alliance and has trained under four-time Olympic medalist Mariel Zagunis. Apart from Zagunis, her father, Adam, has been her trainer. In 1996, he qualified for the Olympics in fencing. However, he couldn't compete due to being unable to convert his Polish citizenship in time.
Skarbonkiewicz has committed to continue her fencing career for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame University.
