Olympic dreams are often crushed by hundredths of a second, thousands of a point, or millimeters. In team saber fencing yesterday, it all came down to an impaled opponent, a time out, and a close call that went the other way.

And that was just the semifinal.

In that contest, the U.S. team of Jason Rogers and Brooklynites Keeth Smart and Ivan Lee had been trailing France, 40-38, before Smart rallied to a 44-44 tie. With a single point to play – the first team to 45 points wins – Smart pierced his opponent, Damien Touya, through the glove.

The French team called a timeout, and Touya returned with a bandaged hand and bloodied uniform. After a few more tension-building touches that were deemed simultaneous, the referee awarded the decisive touch to France.

It was a deflating loss, but set up a bronze-medal match for the U.S. against Russia. The Americans had beaten the Russians during a meet in New York City in June, and the rematch featured a drama within the drama.

The sixth pairing of the nine-match Russia-U.S. showdown – the three athletes on each saber team face each opponent once – pitted Lee against Stanislav Podznyakov. The Russian, a four-time Olympic champion, had eliminated Lee in the individual event five days earlier. More importantly, Podznyakov is the young Lee’s fencing role model.

As a journalism major at St. John’s University, Lee had made Podznyakov the subject of a senior paper that delved into his life and competitive mindset. But Lee had never beaten the Siberian master in four previous tries.

When the two met again yesterday, the U.S. led 25-24. Lee and Podznyakov each scored five touches, preserving the American lead, 30-29. It was redemptive for the student, but the master was not finished.

With the U.S. leading, 40-35, Smart faced off against Podznyakov, hoping to earn the final five touches that would give the U.S. its first medal in men’s fencing since 1984.

Smart, however, managed only four. Again, the U.S. lost by one point, 45-44. Russia captured the bronze, the U.S. finished fourth, and France – including the bandaged Touya – went on to beat Italy in the gold-medal match.

After reality set in and the tension subsided, the U.S. team retreated to its side and did something that betrayed their swaggering composure during the match – they cried inconsolably. Lee wiped the tears beneath his glasses. Sitting behind him was Smart, mask off, shaking and crying, his regal composure of moments ago utterly gone.

A more collected Smart told reporters afterward, “I thought we were going to win. I was not scared at all. I played against two of the greatest fencers ever, Podznyakov and Touya. I feel bad for my teammates because I let them down.”

Meanwhile, the last American man to win a fencing medal was back in New York City, following the action via phone calls and messages from coaches in Athens. Peter Westbrook won a bronze medal in 1984 and went on to coach several of the new generation of American fencers, including Lee and Smart.

Westbrook, a six-time Olympian who has known Lee and Smart for a decade, told The New York Sun yesterday that the day was a complete victory, medal or not. He pointed out that it was a landmark achievement for the Americans to have upset third-seeded Hungary in the quarterfinals.

“To be no. 4 in the word? Incredible,” he said. “These guys are amateurs. What they are doing defies logic. The Europeans don’t understand it, either. They think, ‘How can they beat us?’ For them, fencing is their job, eight hours a day. For my kids, this is a nice, serious hobby. The odds of them accomplishing what they accomplished defies logic. It’s like an amateur going up against Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson in his prime.”

Westbrook already knew what he’d do when his protegees return: “I’ll lay out the red carpet,” he said.