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After the U.S. junior men's fencers competed last month at the world championships in Italy, a group of Italian security guards escorted the team back to its hotel. During the trip, one of the security guards asked, "How did you do?"

They won the gold, the fencers said. They beat Italy in the final.

The moment was a little tense, said Zain Shaito, a 17-year-old from Garland who was part of the three-member winning team. But not as tense as earlier in the day, when the U.S. fencers were battling the host team in front of 2,700 fans in Acireale, Italy.

Shaito (pronounced Shy-toe) and his teammates beat Kuwait, the Netherlands, Russia and France to advance to the men's junior foil final. In the matches, the three members of the U.S. team competed against each member of the opposing team for a total of nine bouts. The scoring "touches" from each bout were combined for a team total, with the first team to 45 winning.

BEN FREDMAN/DMN

Zain Shaito, a 17-year-old from Garland, has his sights on the 2012 Summer Olympics.

The U.S. beat Italy, 45-42.

"When my teammate got that last touch, it was like not real," said Shaito, a junior at the Winfree Academy, a charter school in Richardson. "I was jumping around and celebrating, but it took two or three days for me to think, 'This is real.'"

It's real, and so is Shaito's chance to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics. But only four years ago, he was a beginner in the sport. After suffering a broken arm playing hockey, Shaito tried fencing during his recovery.

Shaito soon gave up hockey and focused on fencing. He liked the individual challenge of the sport, and after a year, he was a solid fencer. Then he won a tournament and wondered, "How good can I be?"

So Shaito started training more. He now practices 40 hours per week at The Fencing Institute of Texas in Farmers Branch.

"It's quite intense, and he's very, very dedicated," said his mother, Kim Shaito. "He doesn't have much time to do the social things."

He doesn't have time for traditional school, either, with his schedule of practice and travel for international competitions. That's why he transferred to Winfree after attending Garland Naaman Forest as a freshman.

It's a lot of hard work, Shaito said, but it's worth it. He's amazed how much he's improved in such a short time.

"This is like the beginning of my career," he said. "I've finally developed my technique – my style."

mwixon@dallasnews.com

Fencing is a sport featuring one of three weapons: an épée, foil or sabre. In foil bouts, a scoring "touch" occurs when one person touches the opponent's torso with the end of the foil. A bout includes three three-minute periods, and requires great focus, strategy and conditioning.

"You've got to be really devoted to the sport," Shaito said. "If you don't like conditioning drills, this is not the sport for you."

YEARBOOK MOMENT: During this week in 1998, the Plano baseball team finished the season with a school-record 25 home runs – and didn't make the playoffs. A year later, Plano broke the record with 29 home runs and advanced to the 5A regional final for the first time since 1975.

WAITING GAME: Starting in the fall, the Class 4A playoffs will expand to four teams from each district. That will be welcomed by fourth-place teams, of course, but also to district champions such as Mesquite Poteet. The top-ranked 4A team in the area hasn't played in nine days and, because Poteet has a first-round bye in the playoffs, it won't play a game that matters for another week. That dampens the momentum of Poteet's 12-game winning streak.