Lausanne, Switz., Feb. 6-9, 2025 – Two International Fencing Federation World Cups took place in Barcelona and Heidenheim, in women’s and men’s epee individual and team events.
Heidenheim, Germany, Men’s Epee World Cup, Feb. 6-8
Italy’s Davide Di Veroli won the gold medal at the Heidenheim, Germany 71st “Heidenheimer Pokal” Men’s Epee World Cup and Japan won the “Voith-Cup” team gold medal. The event took place at the Bibrishalle Herbrechtingen with 341 men’s individual fencers and 36 men’s teams participating in the competition.
Di Veroli faced Hungary’s Tibor Andrasfi in the final bout of individual men’s epee, winning with a 14-13 score. In the semifinal round, Andrasfi won against Egypt’s Mohamed Elsayed, 15-6, while Di Veroli defeated Ukraine’s Volodymyr Stankevich, 15-12. Of note, in the quarterfinals Andrasfi beat Japan’s Olympic champion Koki Kano, 15-10, and in the round of 32, Switzerland’s Jonathan Fuhrimann won against Korea’s Olympic champion Sangyoung Park, 9-8. Hungary’s world champions Gergely Siklosy and Mate Tamas Koch as well as Venezuela’s Olympic champion Ruben Limardo Gascon were eliminated in the round of 64.
Japan faced Israel in the final match of men’s team epee, winning with a 43-33 score. In the semifinal round, Israel won against Switzerland, 41-25, while Japan defeated France, 43-28. The bronze medal went to Switzerland over France, 45-42.
Final rankings in men’s individual epee included Davide Di Veroli (ITA, gold), Tibor Andrasfi (HUN, silver), Mohamed Elsayed (EGY, bronze), Volodymyr Stankevych (UKR, bronze), Koki Kano (JPN), Gianpaolo Buzzacchino (ITA), David Gornovsky (CAN) and Jonathan Fuhrimann (SUI).
Final rankings in men’s team epee included Japan (gold), Israel (silver), Switzerland (bronze), France, Hungary, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and China.
Barcelona, Spain, Women’s Epee World Cup, Feb. 7-9
Hungary’s Eszter Muhari won the gold medal at the Barcelona, Spain Women’s Epee World Cup and Italy won the team gold medal. The event took place at the Institut Nacional d'Educació Física de Catalunya (INEFC), one of the venues from the Barcelona 92 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with 303 women’s individual fencers and 30 women’s teams participating in the competition.
Muhari faced Korea’s world champion Sera Song in the final bout of women’s individual epee, winning with a 15-9 score. In the semifinal round, Song won against Italy’s two-time world champion Rossella Fiamingo, 15-10, while Muhari defeated Italy’s Lucrezia Paulis, 15-7. Of note, in the round of 32 Ukraine’s Olena Kryvytska won against Estonia’s world champion Julia Beljajeva, 15-8.
Italy faced China in the final match of women’s team epee, winning with a 45-37 score. In the semifinal round, China won against Korea, 45-26, while Italy defeated France, 45-37. The bronze medal went to Korea over France, 45-41.
Final rankings in women’s individual epee included Eszter Muhari (HUN, gold), Sera Song (KOR, silver), Rossella Fiamingo (ITA, bronze), Lucrezia Paulis (ITA, bronze), Olena Kryvytska (UKR), Dzhoan Feybi Bezhura (UKR), Eloise Vanryssel (FRA) and Katrina Lehis (EST).
Final rankings in women’s team epee included Italy (gold), China (silver), Korea (bronze), France, Ukraine, Poland, USA and Hungary.
Complete and official results for this 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. Find official photos from this and other events on the FIE Facebook page.