HOSPITALIZED. Vladimir Smirnov, 28, Soviet 1980 Olympic gold medal winner in the individual foil; in critical condition and "clinically dead" after a freak accident during a championship fencing match; in Rome. When Smirnov and West Germany's Matthias Behr lunged simultaneously, the tip of Behr's foil struck Smirnov's chest protector with unusual force. The blade snapped off at the tip; the jagged end then sprang upward, cut through Smirnov's wire-mesh face protector and sank between his left eye and left frontal lobe, severing an artery and piercing his brain.
DIED. Scott Meese, 19, son...
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