Lausanne, Switz., March 22-24, 2024 – Three International Fencing Federation World Cups took place in Budapest, Nanjing and Tbilisi, as athletes continue preparing for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Budapest, Hungary, Men’s Sabre World Cup – March 22-24
Hungary’s world champion Andras Szatmari won the individual gold at the Budapest “Gerevich-Kovács-Kárpáti” Men’s Sabre World Cup and USA won the gold at the “Zarándi Csaba” Men’s Team World Cup. The event took place at the BOK Hall (former SYMA Hall), with 266 individual fencers and 26 teams participating in the competition.
Szatmari faced Italy’s Luca Curatoli in the final bout of men’s individual sabre, winning with a 15-10 score. In the semifinal round, Curatoli won against Iran’s Ali Pakdaman, 15-5, while Szatmari defeated Türkiye’s Enver Yildirim, 15-7. Of note, in the quarterfinals Pakdaman beat Korea’s world champion Sanguk Oh, 15-13. In the round of 32, Italy’s Giovanni Repetti won against Hungary’s world and three-time Olympic champion Aron Szilagyi, 15-13, before being eliminated in the round of 16 by Yildirim, 15-14.
USA faced Korea in the final match of men’s team sabre, winning with a 45-30 score. In the semifinal round, Korea won against Germany, 45-39, while USA defeated Hungary, 45-36. The bronze medal went to Germany over Hungary, 45-43.
Final rankings in men’s individual sabre included Andras Szatmari (HUN, gold), Luca Curatoli (ITA, silver), Ali Pakdaman (IRI, bronze), Enver Yildirim (TÜR, bronze), Sanguk Oh (KOR), Matyas Szabo (GER), Luigi Samele (ITA) and Sebastien Patrice (FRA).
Final rankings in men’s team sabre included USA (gold), Korea (silver), Germany (bronze), Hungary, France, Iran, Romania and Italy.
Nanjing, China, Women’s Epee World Cup – March 22-24
Italy’s Giulia Rizzi won the individual gold at the Nanjing Women’s Epee World Cup and Italy won the team gold. The event took place at the Yangzi River International Conference Center, with 189 individual fencers and 18 teams participating in the competition.
Rizzi faced Korea’s world champion Sera Song in the final bout of women’s individual epee, winning with a 15-8 score. In the semifinal round, Song won against Italy’s Alberta Santuccio, 11-10, while Rizzi defeated Poland’s Martyna Swatowska-Wenglarczyk, 15-10. Of note, in the quarterfinals Swatowska-Wenglarczyk beat Italy’s two-time world champion Rossella Fiamingo, 15-11. In the round of 16, China’s Junyao Tang won against teammate and Olympic champion Yiwen Sun, 15-12, before being eliminated in the quarterfinals by Rizzi, 15-14; in the same round, France’s Laurence Epee defeated teammate and world champion Marie-Florence Candassamy, 15-7, before being eliminated in the quarterfinals by Santuccio, 15-5. In the round of 32, Kenya’s Alexandra Ndolo won against Estonia’s world champion Julia Beljajeva, 15-11, before being eliminated in the round of 16 by Poland’s Alicja Klasik, 15-9.
Italy faced China in the final match of women’s team epee, winning with a 43-34 score. In the semifinal round, China won against Ukraine, 45-33, while Italy defeated Hungary, 45-39. The bronze medal went to Hungary over Ukraine, 45-38.
Final rankings in women’s individual epee included Giulia Rizzi (ITA, gold), Sera Song (KOR, silver), Alberta Santuccio (ITA, bronze), Martyna Swatowska-Wenglarczyk (POL, bronze), Rossella Fiamingo (ITA), Laurence Epee (FRA), Junyao Tang (CHN) and Alicja Klasik (POL).
Final rankings in women’s team epee included Italy (gold), China (silver), Hungary (bronze), Ukraine, Korea, USA, France and Poland.
Tbilisi, Georgia, Men’s Epee World Cup – March 22-24
France’s world and Olympic champion Romain Cannone won the individual gold medal at the Tbilisi Men’s Epee World Cup, and France won the team gold. The event took place at the Tbilisi Sports Palace, with 282 individual fencers and 29 teams participating in the competition.
Cannone faced Belgium’s Neisser Loyola in the final bout of men’s individual epee, winning with a 15-10 score. In the semifinal round, Loyola won against France’s Alexandre Bardenet, 15-9, while Cannone defeated Hungary’s David Nagy, 15-12. Of note, in the quarterfinals, Nagy beat France’s world champion Yannick Borel, 15-12. In the table of 16, Bardenet won against Venezuela’s Olympic champion Ruben Limardo Gascon, 13-6, and in the table of 32, Estonia’s Sten Priinits beat Hungary’s world champion Gergely Siklosi, 15-9, before being eliminated in the round of 16 by Borel, 15-14.
France faced Czech Republic in the final match of men’s team epee, winning with a 45-34 score. In the semifinal round, Czech Republic won against Kazakhstan, 45-36, while France defeated Italy, 45-43. The bronze medal went to Kazakhstan over Italy, 45-35.
Final rankings in men’s individual epee included Romain Cannone (FRA, gold), Neisser Loyola (BEL, silver), Alexandre Bardenet (FRA, bronze), David Nagy (HUN, bronze), Ruslan Kurbanov (KAZ), Yannick Borel (FRA), Minghao Lan (CHN) and Martin Rubes (CZE).
Final rankings in men’s team epee included France (gold), Czech Republic (silver), Kazakhstan (bronze), Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Hungary and Spain.
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.