On Thursday, Becca Ward won bronze with the US women's sabre team at the Olympics. On Monday, she starts her studies at Duke University.

With teammate Sada Jacobson retiring from fencing to enrol. in law school at the University of Michigan, two thirds of the US team that swept the individual medals in Beijing may not defend them at the London Olympics in 2012.

"I'm going off as a freshman in a very competitive academic school and we'll see where that takes me, I'm not going to say anything definite now," said Ward, who also won bronze in individual sabre. Jacobson won silver and Mariel Zagunis gold.