AF Reservist finishes 4th in 2012 Summer Olympics

8/3/2012 - LONDON (AFNS) -- An Air Force Reserve captain from Colorado finished fourth during the fencing competition at the 2012 London Olympics August 1.

Air Force Reserve Capt. Seth Kelsey earned the best finish since 1956 for a U.S. men's individual epee fencer at the Olympic Games. Kelsey is a logistics officer with the 310th Force Support Squadron at Buckley Air Force Base, Colo.

"I've always been disappointed in my previous Olympic performances," said Kelsey, about his fourth place result. "But today I beat three great guys. I had one of the best performances for U.S. men's epee in as long as I can remember. I felt like I put in a ton of hard work and won some tough bouts. I would have loved to have brought home a medal, but I felt like I gave myself the best possible shot I was going to have."

Kelsey added about his two overtime bouts in the medals rounds, "You've gotta take your chances. You win some, you lose some."

He said that when the bronze medal bout went into sudden death overtime, "I asked the guy if he wanted to go one touch and he said yes. He had got that touch earlier and I thought I was far enough away, but I wasn't."

Kelsey said about the next summer Olympics in Rio, "My plans right now are to stay, go for Rio, try and qualify for the team and then go for a medal in individual and take a team medal as well."

As for the Kelsey family, he said, "They were cheering their heads off. I couldn't have asked for a more exuberant excited family to be here. They were super loud and super excited for me and I'm proud to do so well for them."