BEIJING, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Mariel Zagunis outplayed fellow American Sada Jacobson 15-8 to claim her second Olympic gold medal Saturday at the women's sabre individual event of the Beijing Games.

    "It feels so good to see three American flags being raised at the same time. I want to thank my family and teammates who watch me play, without them I can't have gone this far," Zagunis said after the victory.

    The women's sabre individual event turned out to be an American show, with the bronze going to the third American Rebecca Ward.

    "You have to fence for a number of rounds to get to the final, and as the rounds progress, I get less nervous as the rounds progressed," Zagunis said, adding that playing against teammate is a strange experience.

    The 23-year-old champion was extremely excited after the competition as former U.S. President George HW Bush came up to congratulate her.

    Zagunis, ranked fifth in the world, was also the winner at the Athens Games, where she became the first American to win an Olympic fencing gold in 100 years.

    Her hometown is Beaverton, Oregon, and she entered the University of Notre Dame in 2004. She was the first American fencer to become the junior World Cup champion in 2002 and kept that honor for three consecutive years.

    Zagunis is also the youngest world champion, as well as the youngest to win three the International Fencing Federation (FIE) medals in one season.

    Zagunis took one year off school for the Athens Games as she put it, "the schools are always there but the Games only come in every four years."

    However, she also said that going to school is important for her.