RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, April 13, 2024 – USA’s Jaelyn Liu and China’s Weiqiao Lyu won gold medals in cadet women’s and men’s foil at the 2024 Riyadh Junior and Cadet Fencing World Championships. Today’s competitions, on the second day of 18 individual and team events taking place from April 12 to 20, included 105 women and 131 men and are being held at the King Saud University Sports Arena.
Liu faced Polina Volobueva (AIN) in the final bout of cadet women’s individual foil, winning with a 15-7 score. In the semifinal round, Volobueva won against Poland’s Natasza Kus, 15-11, while Liu defeated Canada’s Yunjia Zhang, 15-5.
“I didn’t expect this to happen today, yesterday [in juniors] my fencing felt really ‘heavy’, but then today – I’ve never been in a World Championships before – I guess I was just on a roll”, said Liu. “I did really well in pools and didn’t have that hard of a path until I met my teammate and friend Katerina Lung. From there, I just wanted to compete with her and make her last year in cadet special, but also fence my best. I had a really emotional experience with Sara Amr Hossny, but in the end my friends cheered me on and then I made it through and I won!”
Lyu faced USA’s Don Jeidus Deseranno in the final bout of cadet men’s individual foil, winning with a 15-9 score. In the semifinal round, Deseranno won against Canada’s Jia Bao Xu, 15-7, while Lyu defeated Hong Kong, China’s Chun Lok Luk, 15-12.
“I feel really great”, said Lyu. “It was a new experience and I enjoyed it a lot. Before today, I never thought I could win this top-class tournament in the world for cadets. I am really proud of myself. For me, it's a great success; no words can describe my emotions. I am proud of my country. I hope more kids in China can take part in competitive fencing.”
Final rankings in cadet women’s foil included Jaelyn Liu (USA, gold), Polina Volobueva (AIN, silver), Natasza Kus (POL, bronze), Yunjia Zhang (CAN, bronze), Adeline Senic (MDA), Sara Amr Hossny (EGY), Ludovica Franzoni (ITA) and Yuqiao Song (CAN).
Final rankings in cadet men’s foil included Weiqiao Lyu (CHN, gold), Don Jeidus Deseranno (USA, silver), Jia Bao Xu (CAN, bronze), Chun Lok Luk (HKG, bronze), Luao Yang (USA), Thibaut Gaven Mary (FRA), David Kelly (GBR) and Guillaume Watson (FRA).
Complete and official results for the event may be found on the FIE website. For more exciting world fencing news and features, check out the YouTube FIE Fencing Channel.