ely gifted amateur who will flourish in the pro ranks, Moretti said. Combine that with his popularity in the Central Florida region, where Top Rank will be p

RIO DE JANEIRO -- The United States saw a pair of fencers put themselves in position to win unprecedented gold medals at the Rio Games.Neither came through. But simply getting to the finals helped show how far the Americans have come in a sport where theyve long struggled.Third-ranked Aron Szilagyi of Hungary beat upstart U.S. fencer Daryl Homer to win gold in mens sabre Wednesday.Despite the loss, Homer earned the second silver medal for the American mens fencing team in Rio, joining Stanfords Alexander Massialas. Hes also the first American to win a mens sabre medal since his mentor, Peter Westbrook, won bronze in 1984.Were trying to raise the visibility of the sport, Homer said. We are very competitive with each other, and its great. I love that.Homers impressive final touch gave him a thrilling 15-14 victory over Irans Mojtaba Abedini in the semifinals and put him within a win of the first gold for the U.S. men in the modern era.Szilagyi proved to be too much for the 10th-ranked American, who fell 15-8.Still, the Bronx-born Homer finished as well as any U.S. fencer in his weapon ever had.Homer found out about fencing when he was 5 by reading his dictionary. He begged his mother, Juliette Smith, to let him try out the sport, and Homer wound up under the tutelage of WestbrookWestbrooks foundation is designed to mentor inner-city youth through fencing. It has also been crucial in the career of Ibtihaj Muhammad, who made history Monday as the first U.S. athlete to compete wearing a hijab.Homer emerged as one of Westbrooks prized pupils, earning spots on four All-America teams while at St. Johns. He also became the first American man to win a medal at a world championship event, taking silver in 2015.Homer won his first three matches Wednesday by relatively comfortable margins to reach the semifinals. Homer then faced a furious challenge from Abedini, who overcame a seven-point run from Homer to force a do-or-die situation.Homer exploded to the center of the piste for a touch that put him into the finals.I was like, No regrets. If I lose doing this, Im going to lose doing this and I dont care. And that was literally how I rolled out, Homer said. If you want a medal, you have to do something big for it.But Szilagyi never let the athletic Homer dictate the pace of the match, instead neutralizing Homer with quick strikes that put him in a hole too deep.Daryl is a very aggressive, very dynamic fencer, Szilagyi said. My strategy was to break his dynamism ... and not let him aggressively attack me.Russian Inna Deriglazova won gold in womens foil, giving her country its second fencing title of the Rio Games.Deriglazova beat Italys Elisa Di Francisca, the gold medalist from the London Olympics, 12-11 to claim a world title for the second year in a row.Deriglazova found herself up a point with just 2.5 seconds left, a situation that tested the old adage that athletes who compete not to lose typically lose.But Deriglazova was able to run backward until the clock ran out.Whatever it took to do in those last two seconds, to run away, to fall down, I would do that, Deriglazova said. It didnt matter.Third-ranked American Lee Kiefer lost in the round of 16 and said afterward that this will probably be her last Olympic appearance.The Associated Press contributed to this report. Yeezy Boost 700 Store . Takahashi, who had a 10-point lead after the short program, received 268.31 points after the free skate to finish 15 points ahead of second-place Nobunari Oda. Cheapest Yeezy 350 Store .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. http://www.cheapestairmaxstore.com/fake-yeezy-350-v2-cheap.html . The Masters champion and winner of last weeks Australian PGA has a three-round total of 14-under 199 at Royal Melbourne. "Im in a really good position for tomorrow," Scott said. Nike Cortez Store . Pedro scored from a pass by Lionel Messi in the 33rd minute and added two more goals in the 47th and 72nd after Valdes saved his second penalty in four days following his stop in Wednesdays 4-0 over Ajax in the Champions League. Cheapest Air Max 97 . The 15th-ranked Canadian men lost the opening two games of their European tour: 19-15 to No. 17 Georgia and 21-20 to No. Antonio Vargas, who represented the United States in the flyweight division at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, signed a multiyear promotional contract with Top Rank on Wednesday.Vargas, a 20-year-old who resides in Ocala, Florida, will make his pro debut on a date to be determined in February, Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti told ESPN.We had a lot of offers from promoters from all over the world and we were considering several of them when Top Rank made their offer, Vargas said. Its a dream come true to be signed by Top Rank.Vargas, who is ambidextrous, was 123-7 as an amateur. He would like to fight early on as a junior bantamweight, but probably will be a bantamweight soon.My first couple of fights as a pro, if I can, I want to fight at 115 [pounds], get a little title shot, then move up to 118, Vargas said. But Im growing. I remember in the amateurs, at the Olympics, making 114 was really hard for me. But if I cant make 115, Ill fight at 118 for my first couple of fights.I like to bring the fight, Vargas said of his style. I can box -- I can be nice -- but I just love to throw punches and let the fans see a good fight. Ive been working with my trainer, Tito Ocasio, the last couple of months now, since I came back from the Olympics. Hes more of a professional-style coachh.dddddddddddd Hes trained several world champions. I decided to train with him because hes one of the best professional coaches in Florida right now.At the Olympics, Vargas lost to eventual gold-medal winner Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan in their second-round match at 114 pounds.Antonio is an extremely gifted amateur who will flourish in the pro ranks, Moretti said. Combine that with his popularity in the Central Florida region, where Top Rank will be promoting numerous shows with our partners All-Star Boxing, [and it] should catapult Antonio quickly as an attraction.Vargas amateur accolades, besides the Olympic berth, include being named the 2015 USA Boxing Elite Male Athlete of the Year, as well as winning gold medals in 2015 at the U.S. Olympic trials, Pan American Games, National Golden Gloves and U.S. national championships. He also won gold medals in 2014 at the National Golden Gloves and Pan American Youth Championships.Im extremely happy for Antonio to have this opportunity with Top Rank, said Vargas manager, Dave McWater of Split T Management. Hes worked his whole life to be the best, and in signing with Top Rank he is now with the best. ' ' '