So near... but so far: US fencer weeps as he narrowly misses out on becoming the first American gold medallist ever in the competition and takes silver instead

American fencer Alexander Massialas narrowly missed out on gold
The 22-year-old appeared teary-eyed as he held his silver medal in Rio
The world No. 1 was beaten by Italian Daniele Garozzo
The US hasn't won a men's fencing medal since 1984

Published: 11:38 GMT, 8 August 2016 | Updated: 13:07 GMT, 8 August 2016

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The disappointment top-ranked American fencer Alexander Massialas felt after narrowly missing out on a gold medal was evident on his face as he broke down in tears on Sunday.

Massialas, a 22-year-old Stanford University engineering student from San Francisco, was seeking to become the first American man to win at the Olympics in the modern version of the sport.

He did, however, still become the first individual Olympic medalist the US has produced in men's fencing since Peter Westbrook won a bronze in 1984.

But the world No. 1 lost out on a gold medal in the men's foil fencing to Italian Daniele Garozzo by 15-11, to give Italy its second gold of the Rio Games.

Alexander Massialas of the United States appears teary-eyed during his awards ceremony after being defeated

Massialas rallied from six points down in the quarterfinals. But he gave up six straight points to Garozzo in the final as the Italian ran away with the match.

Russia's Timur Safin took bronze.

At the London 2012 Olympics, China's Lei Sheng took gold, Egypt's Alaaeldin Abouelkassem won silver and South Korea's Choi Byung-Chul earned a bronze medal.

Few seemed as shocked to see the 11th-ranked Garozzo topple the American more than the fencer himself.

Massialas, 22, weeps with his silver medal in a men's individual foil fencing final at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro

Daniele Garozzo of Italy celebrates after defeating Alexander Massialas and winning the gold medal

Massialas, a Stanford University engineering student, was seeking to become the first American man to win at the Olympics in the modern version of the sport

From left, silver medal Alexander Massialas of the United States, gold medal Daniele Garozzo of Italy and bronze medal Timur Satin of Russia

Garozzo ditched his mask and ran the length of the piste to salute a Brazilian crowd that had decided to back the underdog.

Officials forced a jubilant Garozzo back to the strip before awarding him the 15th and final point.

But in retrospect, what happened in the final wasn't terribly surprising, since Massialas needed one of the biggest rallies in recent Olympic history simply to reach the semifinals.

Massialas cruised to victory in his first two matches before running into Italy's Giorgio Avola, who got on a run and jumped ahead 14-8 in a sport where 15 points clinches victory.

Massialas rallied with seven straight points, drawing the crowd to its feet with his winning touch.

The highly anticipated semifinal matchup between Massialas and teammate Gerek Meinhardt failed to materialize when Meinhardt lost to Great Britain's Richard Kruse 15-13.

The world number one lost out on a gold medal by 15-11, to give Italy its second gold of the Rio Games

Officials were forced to being a jubilant Garozzo back to the strip before awarding him the 15th and final point

Garozzo beat Timur Safin of Russia 15-8 to earn a shot at the gold medal, while Massialas rolled past Kruse 15-9.

Massialas, Meinhardt, Race Imboden and Miles Chamley-Watson, who lost his first match, will compete again Friday as one of the favorites in the team competition.

'We'll all be able to recover and get refocused,' Meinhardt said. 'All of us are ready. ... We know it's our best chance.'