{{short description|American fencer}} {{use mdy dates|date=August 2022}} {{Infobox sportsperson | name = Rebecca Ward | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_date = {{birth-date and age|February 7, 1990}} | birth_place = Grand Junction, Colorado, U.S. | headercolor = lightsteelblue | show-medals = yes | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport| Women's fencing}} {{MedalCountry| the {{USA}} }} {{MedalCompetition|Olympic Games}} {{MedalBronze | 2008 Beijing | Individual sabre}} {{MedalBronze | 2008 Beijing | Team sabre}} {{MedalCompetition|World Championships}} {{MedalGold| 2006 Turin | Individual sabre}} {{MedalSilver| 2006 Turin | Team sabre}} }}
'''Rebecca Ward''' (born February 7, 1990) is an American sabre fencer. She won the gold medal at the sabre 2006 World Fencing Championships after beating Mariel Zagunis 15–11 in the final, and took bronze in both individual and team sabre events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.<ref name="dukefencing">{{cite web |url=http://www.dukefencing.org/women/ward.htm |title=Rebecca Ward |publisher=Duke Fencing |access-date=2009-07-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726005141/http://www.dukefencing.org/women/ward.htm |archive-date=2011-07-26 }}</ref><ref name="goduke">{{cite web|url=http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=25938&SPID=2028&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=204760924 |title=BDW: Blue Devils of the Year for 2009 – Duke University Blue Devils | Official Athletics Site |publisher=GoDuke.com |access-date=2009-07-24}}</ref> She also won the women's NCAA national individual sabre championship three times (2009, 2011, 2012), the first in history to do so in sabre.<ref name="portlandtribune.com">[http://portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=133253460031977400 COLLEGE FENCING: Rebecca Ward captures third NCAA title]{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}.</ref> In 2015, she was inducted into the USA Fencing Hall of Fame.<ref>[http://www.usfencing.org/news_article/show/396711-usa-fencing-announces-2015-hall-of-fame-induction-class USA Fencing Announces 2015 Hall of Fame Induction Class] USA Fencing. 18 June 2014.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/2014/06/olympic_fencer_rebecca_ward_wi.html|title=Olympic fencer Rebecca Ward will be inducted into the USA Fencing Hall of Fame|last=Goe|first=Ken|date=2014-06-19|website=Oregon Live}}</ref>
==Personal== Ward was born in Grand Junction, Colorado, to Bill and Beth Ward. She has a brother by the name of Wiliam Ward. Ward was home schooled.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&ATCLID=204916485&DB_OEM_ID=4200 |title=Becca Ward Bio – Duke University Blue Devils | Official Athletics Site |publisher=GoDuke.com |access-date=2014-08-26}}</ref> She was the senior director at the Clean Energy Leadership Institute until April 2021,<ref>{{cite web|title=Becca Ward|url=https://www.linkedin.com/pub/becca-ward/40/708/a09|website=LinkedIn|access-date=2 February 2015}}</ref> and is currently the head of the Saber Program Director for the Arlington Fencers' Club in Arlington, Virginia.<ref>{{cite web|title=Coaches|url=http://www.arlingtonfencers.org/coaches/|website=Arlington Fencers' Club|access-date=16 October 2016}}</ref> She has lived in Cedar Mill, a suburb of Portland, Oregon.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20161018223735/http://portlandtribune.com/component/content/article?id=72057 Fencer Ward happy being No. 2 on the way to Beijing] Portland Tribune. 2 August 2008.</ref>
==History== A member of the Oregon Fencing Alliance (OFA), she trained with Ed Korfanty Charles Randall and Jacek Huchwajda and has won a record number of world titles for a female sabre fencer in 2006; Cadet (U17), Junior (U20), Junior Team and Senior.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oregonfencing.org/coaches-staff|title=Coaches and Staff; Oregon Fencing Alliance|website=Oregon Fencing Alliance|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200204044849/https://www.oregonfencing.org/coaches-staff|archive-date=2020-02-04|access-date=2020-02-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://museumofamericanfencing.com/wp/ward-becca/|title=Ward, Becca; Museum Of American Fencing|website=Museum of American Fencing|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200204045636/http://museumofamericanfencing.com/wp/ward-becca/|archive-date=2020-02-04|access-date=2020-02-03}}</ref> As of June 2007, Ward was ranked first in the world in both Official and World Cup rankings for senior women sabre fencers. She was also a member of the US Senior World Team that won the gold medal at the 2005 World Fencing Championships in Leipzig, Germany.
As of July 2007, Ward was the number-one-ranked senior women's sabre fencer in the United States and on the FIE Rankings. Ward won the Grand Prix in Las Vegas and gave up only 30 points of a possible 90 (an average of only five points in each 15-point bout).
==College career== Ward fenced for Duke University under Maître Alex Beguinet while working towards majors in Public Policy and Psychology, as well as a Certificate in Energy and the Environment.<ref>Duke University Sustainability http://sustainability.duke.edu/news_events/items/2011_03_22GreenHandedWk1.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202163349/http://sustainability.duke.edu/news_events/items/2011_03_22GreenHandedWk1.html |date=February 2, 2012 }}</ref> On Sunday March 22, 2009, she won the women's NCAA national individual sabre title.<ref name="dukefencing"/><ref name="goduke"/> She failed to defend her title in 2010, losing the final match to Caroline Vloka of Harvard. On March 27, 2011, Ward defeated Vloka in the women's sabre NCAA semifinal, and went on to reclaim her title by defeating Princeton's Eliza Stone 15–12 in the gold-medal match. In 2012, she captured her third NCAA championship by defeating Penn State's Monica Aksamit, becoming the first three-time individual sabre winner in NCAA history.<ref name="portlandtribune.com"/>
Ward graduated Duke with a 272–7 (.975) record, making her the school's all-time wins leader.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goduke.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=205562591 |title=Ward Named ACC's Top Female Athlete – Duke University Blue Devils | Official Athletics Site |publisher=GoDuke.com |date=2012-07-31 |access-date=2014-08-26}}</ref>
==2008 Beijing Olympics== {{main|Fencing at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's sabre|Fencing at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's team sabre}} Ward was one of the top seeds for the individual sabre competition. She won her first bout, against Spain's Araceli Navarro, when her opponent was forced to withdraw due to a shoulder injury (Ward was winning 12–7 at the time). She then defeated Orsolya Nagy of Hungary in the round of 16, 15–5. In the quarterfinals, she beat Tunisia's Azza Besbes, 15–14, in a match decided by one final touch.
In the semifinals, Ward faced defending Olympic champion Mariel Zagunis, with whom she trained regularly at the Oregon Fencing Alliance. She lost the bout 15–11 to Zagunis, who would go on to win the gold medal. Shortly after, Ward fenced in the bronze medal bout, where she defeated Russia's Sofia Velikaya 15–14. This assured that American fencers would sweep all three medals prior to the actual final bout, in which Sada Jacobson faced Mariel Zagunis for the gold.
In the women's sabre team event, the US was heavily favored to win the team event.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/sport/feedarticle/7708520 ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080814103736/http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/feedarticle/7708520 |date=August 14, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.courant.com/sports/other/hc-jeffcol0810.artaug10,0,4601492.column?page=2 |title=Topic Galleries |publisher=Courant.com |access-date=2009-07-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080912140834/http://www.courant.com/sports/other/hc-jeffcol0810.artaug10,0,4601492.column?page=2 |archive-date=2008-09-12 }}</ref> Ward teamed up with Jacobson and Zagunis to defeat the South African team in the quarterfinals, 45–8.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nbcolympics.com/fencing/resultsandschedules/rsc=FEW403300/index.html |title=2008 Beijing Summer Olympics – Fencing | Athlete Profiles, Videos & Photos |publisher=NBC Olympics |date=2008-08-14 |access-date=2009-07-24 |archive-date=November 3, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091103175841/http://www.nbcolympics.com/fencing/resultsandschedules/rsc%3DFEW403300/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In the semifinals, they fenced Ukraine. The Ukrainians, seeded fifth in the tournament, defeated the favored US team 45–39, denying them a gold medal, and placing them in the bronze medal bout against France.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nbcolympics.com/fencing/resultsandschedules/rsc=FEW403200/index.html |title=2008 Beijing Summer Olympics – Fencing | Athlete Profiles, Videos & Photos |publisher=NBC Olympics |date=2008-08-14 |access-date=2009-07-24 |archive-date=November 3, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091103175801/http://www.nbcolympics.com/fencing/resultsandschedules/rsc%3DFEW403200/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The USA team rebounded from their semifinal loss by defeating the French team 45–38, with Ward making the final touch of the bout, and Ward earned her second bronze medal of the Olympics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nbcolympics.com/fencing/resultsandschedules/rsc=FEW403100/index.html |title=2008 Beijing Summer Olympics – Fencing | Athlete Profiles, Videos & Photos |publisher=NBC Olympics |date=2008-08-14 |access-date=2009-07-24 |archive-date=August 16, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080816152158/http://www.nbcolympics.com/fencing/resultsandschedules/rsc%3DFEW403100/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==See also== *List of USFA Division I National Champions *List of NCAA fencing champions *List of USFA Hall of Fame members
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{FIE|name=Rebecca Ward}} * [http://oregonfencing.com/profiles/rebecca_ward.htm Rebecca Ward profile] at Oregon Fencing Alliance * {{Team USA|new_id=rebecca-ward|name=Rebecca Ward|old_id=WA/Rebecca-Ward|archive=20220130112600}} * {{Olympics.com profile|name=Becca Ward}} * {{Olympedia|name=Becca Ward}}
{{World Champions in Women's Sabre}} {{ACC Athlete of the Year navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Rebecca}} Category:1990 births Category:Living people Category:American female sabre fencers Category:Fencers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in fencing Category:Fencers from Portland, Oregon Category:Duke University alumni Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:21st-century American sportswomen Category:Duke Blue Devils athletes Category:World Fencing Championships medalists