Match-Fixing Imbroglio Takes Toll on Olympic Performance

The US women’s saber fencing team are in a tight spot. The team, consisting of Magda Skarbonkiewicz, Elizabeth Tartakovsky, and Tatiana Nazlymov, among others, have had a difficult run, losing their opening bouts, and raising eyebrows, although Lee Keifer and Lauren Scruggs have already made up for their teammates’ performance.

US Women’s Saber Team Haunted by Match-Fixing Scandal

One of the fencers, Nazlymov, who qualified for the Olympics had to undergo detailed scrutiny over the qualifier event where the suspicion of “match-fixing” first emerged. Allegedly, Nazlymov made it to the team’s Olympics quota after a highly controversial referee conduct that resulted in two referees’ suspensions.

Nazlymov has said that she did not know why the referees had acted the way they did and was not privy to any attempt to undermine the fairness of the competition.

Some US fencers have stepped forward and condemned the decision that saw the referees dismissed, calling it “weak and futile,” and failing to address bigger problems in the sport. Nazlymov herself had to sit through a 13-hour arbitration hearing which examined the match-fixing that led to her placement for the US Olympics quota, finding the athlete innocent in the matter.

The hearing was not explicitly held to address the case involving Nazlymov, but to look into general procedural failings across the sport as a whole.

Although Nazlymov has been cleared of all misconduct, the referees – Jacobo Morales and Brandon Romo who were involved with the qualifier were suspended earlier this year for nine months. They were found to have breached the USA Fencing Referee Code of Ethics.

USA Fencing, which is the governing body for the sport, took a dim view of the referees “conferring” during the qualifier but did not find Nazlymov to be in fact to blame.

The other members of the US women’s fencing team have not openly criticized their teammate nor did they suggest that she was guilty of match-fixing a charge that Nazlymov herself has dismissed as spurious. USA Fencing CEO Phil Andrews has insisted that the team has come under serious emotional strain, commenting on the opening bout losses by the trio of fencers, though.

Match-fixing scandals have rocked the sports world at a time when sports betting has been growing at an exponential pace in the United States. The majority of high-profile events, though tightly monitored by betting operators with literal money on the line have been mostly manipulation-free.

Match-fixing allegations hurt athlete performance

However, less lucrative sports have often been targeted by criminals, who have often worked in cahoots with either responsible personnel such as referees, or athletes. Tennis has been particularly susceptible.

Nevertheless, the allegations of a US athlete getting the bump to the Olympics quota amid a match-fixing ruction pose serious questions about the integrity of the game.

Whether these allegations have depressed the US women’s fencing team’s performance is another matter altogether. They certainly did not help.