Ruben Limardo of Venezuela defeated Bartosz Piasecki of Norway for men's epee gold at the London Games on Wednesday, with both nations gaining their first ever Olympic fencing medals.
South Korean Kim Ji Yeon won the women's sabre gold after beating the 2004 and 2008 gold medallist Mariel Zagunis in the semi-finals and defeating Russian world champion Sofya Velikaya in the final.
Limardo, who turns 27 on Friday, won the gold medal bout 15-10 against the Poland-born Piasecki, deciding the final with five unanswered hits from 4-3 to 9-3.
Jun Jin Sun of South Korea defeated Seth Kelsey of the United States 12-11 in overtime to earn bronze.
"I feel all the joy in the world. I visualised the whole competition. I knew I was going to win it," Limardo said. "I proved today that Venezuelan people can achieve things. I am very happy to have won and I share my victory with them."
Limardo dedicated the gold to his late mother.
"I dedicate this medal to my mother who is the sky. She was a psychologist and she taught me how to concentrate. Although she's not here to share this happiness with me, my mother is still my main engine," he said.
The United States' Zagunis had ruled women's sabre by winning the first two Olympic editions, but ran out of luck against Kim, whose only claim to fame until Wednesday were five podium finishes in second and third place.
But Kim beat the American 15-13 after fighting from 12-6 down and then won the gold medal bout against Velikaya 15-9, setting the stage for success with five hits in a row from 6-5 to 11-5.
Zagunis came up empty-handed as she also lost the bronze medal bout 15-10 against Olga Kharlan of Ukraine.
"She did not beat me. I defeated myself. I was dominating the fight and everything was going right. I got too excited at 12-6 and I had a lapse in concentration. I was definitely impatient ... I lost my focus and mentally I was not there," Zagunis said.
