Fencer Nominated For Sportswoman Of The Year

Summary: One of US Fencing's brightest young stars has been nominated to be 2007 Sportswoman of the year by the Women's Sports Foundation. Founded in 1974 by Billie Jean King, the Women's Sports Foundation is a national charitable educational organization seeking to advance the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity. The Foundation's Participation, Education, Advocacy, Research and Leadership Programs are made possible by gifts from individuals, foundations...

One of US Fencing's brightest young stars has been nominated to be 2007 Sportswoman of the year by the Women's Sports Foundation. Founded in 1974 by Billie Jean King, the Women's Sports Foundation is a national charitable educational organization seeking to advance the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity. The Foundation's Participation, Education, Advocacy, Research and Leadership Programs are made possible by gifts from individuals, foundations and corporations. Ward earned a nomination from the Women's Sports Foundation due to her strong results in international fencing over the past two seasons. In 2006 she won the world championship in women's sabre, defeating teammate and reigning Olympic gold medalist Mariel Zagunis. In 2006, Rebecca Ward also won the Cadet and Junior world championships, a triple-crown performance that was the first time any fencer had held all three titles at the same time. In May 2007, Ward won the silver medal in the sabre event, at both the Hanoi Women's World Cup and the England World Cup. Also in the month of May, she won the gold medal at the Klagenfurt Women's World Cup. At the Las Vegas Grand Prix in June, Ward won the gold medal defeating 2000 Olympic silver medalist Xue Tan. Her win at Las Vegas made her the World Cup Champion for the 2006-2007 season. Ward is also ranked No. 1 in the world in the saber by the International Fencing Federation (FIE) ranking list. Becca has continued winning key matches and is currently ranked #1 in the world heading into the 2007 World Championships. Upcoming tournaments will be the Americas Zonal Championships in August and then the 2007 World Championships in St. Petersburg, Russia - both are Olympic qualifying events. In addition to the individual accolades, Becca Ward is also a member of the US Women's Sabre team, which is ranked #1 in the world heading into the 2007 World Championships.