Avenel's Dagmara Wozniak Comes Home With Bronze

Woodbridge, NJ - It's a bronze medal win for local Woodbridge fencer Dagmara Wozniak, second from right, and her nearly entirely New Jersey U.S. women's fencing team. The U.S. women's saber team won bronze Saturday after a 45-30 final victory against Italy.

Dagmara Wozniak moved to the U.S. from Poland at age 1, and her family settled in Avenel. She began saber training at a young age and went on to graduate from Colonia High School. She cried tears of joy Saturday after their win and she spoke emotionally of the team:

“I’m actually glad that we have such a diverse team because we are America,” Wozniak told U.S. Fencing. “This is sport. It doesn’t matter what hair color you have or what religion you are. The point is to go out there and be the best athlete that you can be and I think we’re the best explanation of what America is – a mix of so many different cultures and races ... It’s all irrelevant and you’re supposed to go out there and fight as hard as you can."

Wozniak dyed her hair bright purple before the Olympic event because she said she wanted to encourage people to be confident and not be afraid to stand out. Wozniak now lives in Hoboken, where she was presented with a proclamation from Mayor Dawn Zimmer in July before leaving for Rio.

For the 4-person U.S. women's fencing team, it's the first time three of them have won an Olympic medal: Dagmara Wozniak, of Avenel, N.J., Monica Aksamit of Matawan, N.J. and Ibtihaj Muhammad, of Maplewood, N.J. However, for the fourth member of their team, Mariel Zagunis, of Beaverton, Ore., Saturday's win made her the only U.S. woman to win four Olympic medals. Zagunis won individual gold medals in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and a team bronze medal in 2008. Zagunis is now the only U.S. fencer to reach the podium at three different Olympics.

Muhammad of Maplewood, said the team is happy with the third-place win. “I feel like we came in the underdogs. We hadn’t medaled all year. To be able to do that and go home with a medal is a phenomenal feat," Muhammad told U.S. Fencing. "I’ll never forget this moment ... It’s been a lot of injuries. It’s been a lot of time away from my family. It’s been a lot of blood, sweat and tears that went into winning this medal with my team. I can’t think of a better group of girls to win this medal with. I’m just very appreciative. I’m just very grateful to be able to represent my country.”