LIMA, Peru, March 23, 2025 – Japan’s Komaki Kikuchi and Italy’s Filippo Macchi won gold medals at the Lima, Peru Women’s and Men’s Foil Grand Prix. The event took place at the Villa Polideportivo Nacional, with 121 women and 134 men participating in the competition.
Kikuchi faced Italy’s Anna Cristino in the final bout of women’s individual foil, winning with a 15-9 score. In the semifinal round, Cristino won against USA’s two-time Olympic champion Lee Kiefer, 15-13, while Kikuchi defeated Italy’s Martina Favaretto, 15-11. Of note, in the round of 32, Ukraine’s Olga Sopit won against Italy’s two-time world champion Alice Volpi, 15-12; and in the round of 64, Korea’s Seungmin Lim defeated Italy’s two-time world champion Arianna Errigo, 15-9.
“It feels unbelievable and I’m very happy”, said Kikuchi. “Thank you to everyone for all my support, and I love Lima!”
Macchi faced teammate Guillaume Bianchi in the final bout of men’s individual foil, winning with a 15-12 score. In the semifinal round, Bianchi won against USA’s Nick Itkin, 15-11, while Macchi defeated Korea’s Kwanghyun Lee, 15-9. Of note, in the quarterfinals Bianchi won against Italy’s world champion Tommaso Marini, 15-14 and Macchi defeated Hong Kong, China’s two-time Olympic champion Ka Long Cheung, 15-9; in the table of 16, Italy’s Davide Filippi beat teammate and world champion Alessio Foconi, 15-12; and in the table of 64, USA’s Marcello Olivares won against teammate and world champion Miles Chamley-Watson, 15-14.
“I feel 100 percent because I’ve never won a world cup or a grand prix, and it feels amazing”, said Macchi. “My fencing was good today, I was focused on touches in each bout. I was going through a bad period, but now I’m finding out my physical shape. Next is Vancouver, and I have to train a lot and improve!”
Final rankings in women’s individual foil included Komaki Kikuchi (JPN, gold), Anna Cristino (ITA, silver), Lee Kiefer (USA, bronze), Martina Favaretto (ITA, bronze), Eva Lacheray (FRA), Elena Tangherlini (ITA), Flora Pasztor (HUN) and Sumire Tsuji (JPN).
Final rankings in men’s individual foil included Filippo Macchi (ITA, gold), Guillaume Bianchi (ITA, silver), Kwanghyun Lee (KOR, bronze), Nick Itkin (USA, bronze), Ka Long Cheung (HKG), Tommaso Marini (ITA), Anas Anane (FRA) and Davide Filippi (ITA).
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.