Rare gold for Venezuela

Ruben Limardo won the fencing individual epee at London 2012 to become Venezuela's second Olympic champion ever.

The world number 13 sparked scenes of unbridled joy among the South American nation's small contingent at the ExCeL arena after beating Norway's Bartosz Piasecki 15-10.

Limardo's victory saw him become his country's first gold medallist since light-flyweight boxer Francisco Rodriguez triumphed in 1968

He said: "I've demonstrated that Venezuelans have got talent. I don't know what to say, I'm just speechless."

Seth Kelsey had hoped to be the first male American ever to win Olympic fencing gold but the world number 20, having knocked out top seed Nikolai Novosjolov in front of the Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, lost both his semi-final to Limardo and third place contest in sudden death to South Korean Jung Jinsun.

Venezuela have only ever won 12 medals of any colour in total. It is now two gold, two silver - both also in boxing in 1976 and 1980 - and eight bronze.

Limardo, who put out world number five Max Heinzer in the last 16 and then Italy's reigning world champion Paolo Pizzo in the quarter-finals, was conceding eight inches in height to the 6ft 5in Polish-born Piasecki.

But that did not matter as he raced into a 14-6 lead. He then lost the next four points, but finally made it.

"I came here to get a gold medal and I dedicate it to my country," he added.

"My goal is to reach my dream, to be an Olympic champion, and that's what I set for myself when I was a child."

Women's sabre

Britain did not have any competitors in the event, but the day also saw the women's sabre and a desperately disappointing week for the home squad - not one of the 10 made the last 16 - continued with Sophie Williams and Louise Bond-Williams losing their first-round contests.

Williams, only 21, was crushed 15-6 by Italy's world number six Irene Vecchi and 30-year-old Bond-Williams, in her second Games, lost 15-8 to fourth-ranked Vassiliki Vougiouka, from Greece.

South Korean Kim Jiyeon went on to win a shock gold with a 15-9 victory over Russia's world champion Sofya Velikaya in the final.

Kim had produced a stunning comeback to defeat American Mariel Zagunis in the semi-final having trailed 12-5 at one stage.

Zagunis, her country's flag-bearer at last Friday's opening ceremony, was the champion in Athens and Beijing - indeed the only winner the recently-introduced event has had - and was on a 12-match unbeaten run.

But amazingly she lost 10 of the last 11 points and then suffered defeat again in the bronze medal match to Ukraine's Olga Kharlan 15-10.