BELGRADE, Serbia, April 14-18, 2022—Italy’s Tommaso Marini and Germany’s Anne Sauer won gold medals in individual men’s and women’s foil at the Belgrade Foil World Cups, with Italy and France winning the team competitions. The event took place at the City’s Belexpocentar, with 213 men and 168 women participating in the competitions.
In individual men’s foil, Marini faced teammate Giorgio Avola in the final match, winning with a 15-9 score. In the semifinal round, Avola won against Japan’s Kazuki Iimura, 15-9, while Marini beat the Netherlands’ Daniel Giacon, 15-9. Avola also defeated Hong Kong, China Olympic champion Ka Long Cheung, 15-7, in the quarterfinals.
In individual women’s foil, Sauer faced teammate Leonie Ebert in the final match, winning by a single touch, 15-14. Ebert defeated Italy’s Martina Batini in the semifinal round, 15-7, while Sauer won against USA’s Olympic champion, Lee Kiefer, 15-10. Ebert also beat Italian world champion Alice Volpi in the quarterfinals, 15-13, and Batini was the winner against teammate and two-time world champion Arianna Errigo, 15-12.
In the men’s team foil event, with 28 teams participating, Italy won against Poland in the final round, 45-27. Poland defeated Hong Kong, China in the semifinal round, 45-32, while Italy beat France, 45-29. The bronze medal went to France over Hong Kong, China, 45-38.
In the women’s team foil event, with 20 teams participating, France won against Germany in the final round, 45-30. Germany defeated Japan in the semifinal round, 39-34, while France beat Italy, 45-44. The bronze medal went to Italy over Japan, 45-15.
Final rankings for individual men’s foil included Tommaso Marini (ITA, gold), Giorgio Avola (ITA, silver), Daniel Giacon (NED, bronze), Kazuki Iimura (JPN, bronze), Ka Long Cheung (HKG), Guilherme Toldo (BRA), Alexander Kahl (GER) and Marcus Mepstead (GBR).
Final rankings for individual women’s foil included Anne Sauer (GER, gold), Leonie Ebert (GER, silver), Martina Batini (ITA, bronze), Lee Kiefer (USA, bronze), Alice Volpi (ITA), Arianna Errigo (ITA), Sera Azuma (JPN) and Julia Walczyk (POL).
Final rankings for men’s team foil included Italy (gold); Poland (silver); France (bronze); Hong Kong, China; Japan; Egypt; Germany; and USA.
Final rankings for women’s team foil included France (gold); Germany (silver); Italy (bronze); Japan; Korea; Spain; Canada; and Singapore.
Complete and official results for the event may be found here on the FIE web site. For more exciting world fencing news and features, check out the YouTube FIE Fencing Channel.