Lausanne, Switz., Feb. 9-11, 2024 – Three International Fencing Federation World Cups took place in Barcelona, Lima and Tbilisi, as athletes prepare for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Current provisional qualification information for Paris 2024 is available here: https://paris.fie.org/
Barcelona, Spain, Women’s Epee World Cup – Feb. 9-11
Hong Kong, China’s Man Wai Vivian Kong won the individual gold medal at the Barcelona Women’s Epee World Cup, and Italy won the team gold. The event took place at the Institut Nacional d’Educació Física de Catalunya (INEFC), one of the venues used in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic and Paralympic Games, with 307 individual fencers and 26 teams participating in the competition.
Kong faced Korea’s world champion Sera Song in the final bout of women’s individual epee, winning with a 12-11 score. In the semifinal round, Song won against Hungary’s Eszter Muhari, 15-7, while Kong defeated Poland’s Renata Knapik-Miazga, 15-11. Of note, in the quarterfinals, Kong beat Brazil’s world champion Nathalie Moellhausen, 11-10, and Knapik-Miazga won against China’s Olympic champion Yiwen Sun, 11-10. In the round of 16, Ukraine’s Olena Kryvytska defeated Italy’s world champion Mara Navarria, 15-13, before being eliminated in the quarterfinals by Muhari, 15-6. In the round of 32, Muhari also defeated France’s world champion Marie-Florence Candassamy, 15-12, and Ukraine’s Vlada Kharkova beat Italy’s world champion Rossella Fiamingo, 15-7.
In the women’s team epee event, Italy faced Korea in the final match, winning with a 29-28 score. In the semifinal round, Korea won against USA, 43-31, while Italy defeated China, 22-21. The bronze medal went to China over USA, 41-34.
Lima, Peru, Women’s Sabre World Cup – Feb. 9-11
Ukraine’s four-time world champion Olga Kharlan won the individual gold medal at the Lima Women’s Sabre World Cup, and France won the team gold. The event took place at the Villa Deportiva Nacional, with 148 individual fencers and 20 teams participating in the competition.
Kharlan faced Hungary’s Sugar Katinka Battai in the final bout of women’s individual sabre at the Lima Women’s Sabre World Cup, winning with a 15-6 score. In the semifinal round, Battai won against Uzbekistan’s Zaynab Dayibekova, 15-12, while Kharlan defeated USA’s Elizabeth Tartakovsky, 15-12. Of note, in the quarterfinals, Dayibekova beat Japan’s two-time world champion Misaki Emura, 15-12.
In the women’s team sabre event, France faced Italy in the final match, winning with a 45-26 score. In the semifinal round, Italy won against Bulgaria, 45-42, while France defeated Hungary, 45-35. The bronze medal went to Hungary over Bulgaria, 45-42.
Tbilisi, Georgia, Men’s Sabre World Cup – Feb. 9-11
Hungary’s world and three-time Olympic champion Aron Szilagyi won the individual gold medal at the Tbilisi Men’s Sabre World Cup, and Korea won the team gold. The event took place at the Tbilisi Sports Palace, with 197 individual fencers and 22 teams participating in the competition.
Szilagyi faced Iran’s Ali Pakdaman in the final bout of men’s individual sabre, winning with a 15-7 score. In the semifinal round, Pakdaman won against Georgia’s Sandro Bazadze, 15-13, while Szilagyi defeated Italy’s Luigi Samele, 15-6. Of note, in the round of 32, Bazadze beat Korea’s world champion Junghwan Kim, 15-6.
In the men’s team sabre event, Korea faced Hungary in the final match, winning with a 45-44 score. In the semifinal round, Hungary won against USA, 45-31, while Korea defeated Romania, 45-33. The bronze medal went to USA over Romania, 45-32.
Complete and official results for these events may be found here on the FIE web site. For more exciting world fencing news and features, check out the YouTube FIE Fencing Channel.