Unbeatable France showed its supremacy in Men's Team Sabre once again by comfortably beating the United States 45-37 to repeat its success in Athens four years ago.

France went all the way to the top of the podium after defeating Egypt in the quarterfinals and downing Italy in the semifinals.

"We were lucky enough to be the world champions and fence against Egypt, who were [seeded] eighth. Italy is really a great champion and it took a lot of strength to overcome the hurdles. In our match against Italy we had some trouble with refereeing both tactically and technically," said Boris Sanson, one of the gold medalists.

The US team surprised the fencing world once again on August 17 by defeating Hungary and Russia to book a place in the final of the Men's Team Sabre at 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

In a dramatic quarterfinal, the US trio created an upset by outscoring reigning world champion Hungary 45-44, with the United States winning only three out of nine bouts.

"I heard a really interesting statistic today that said we are the first men's fencing team in 15 years to come this far. To be a part of history in US fencing is truly an honor," said Keeth Smart of the silver team.

Italy took bronze in the final after its 45-44 victory over Russia in the Men's Team Sabre Bronze medal match.

"I can finally take something home with me. It's very important that we've won a medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games because this is my last Olympics." said Aldo Montano, one of the bronze winners.

"My last touch was from the heart. It wasn't from any skill. For us to defeat one of the greatest Russian teams is a miracle." he added.

Host China was eliminated by Russia in the preliminary round. Its French coach Christian Bauer talked about his team after the Men's Team Sabre preliminary round at the Fencing Hall.

"As a team they're doing fine. Technically, they are already among the strongest teams in the world, but as I said many times before, they lack some confidence. It's all about confidence. We haven't worked enough on this. Making someone confident requires a lot of time," said Bauer.

"Technically and physically they are really good. There are no differences between Chinese and European fencers. Only that the Chinese always feel scared," he added.

(Beijing 2008.cn August 18, 2008 )