DOHA, Qatar, Jan. 23-25, 2026
The awarding ceremony of the Doha Grand Prix 2026 for women and men, held at the Aspire Sports Complex, concluded in the presence of Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, CEO of Qatar Foundation, Mr Abdel Moneim El-Husseiny, Interim President of the International Fencing Federation, and Dr Thomas Bach, Honorary President of the International Olympic Committee, along with a number of distinguished figures from the international fencing community.
Also in attendance were Mr Abdullah Ali Al Ghanim, President of the Qatar Fencing Federation, Ms Gulnora Saidova, Secretary General of the International Fencing Federation, Ms Velichka Hristeva, Member of the Executive Committee of the International Fencing Federation, Sheikh Salem Al Qasimi, President of the Asian Fencing Confederation, and Mr Vitaly Logvin, President of the Pan American Fencing Confederation.
Hungary’s Eszter Muhari, the Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist, topped a field of 180 fencers at the Doha Grand Prix in Qatar, defeating France’s Alexandra Louis Marie 15–5 in a commanding final at the spectacular Aspire Dome. The bout was contested in front of a distinguished audience that included Honorary President of the International Olympic Committee, Dr. Thomas Bach.
The 23-year-old Muhari, a student at the University of Notre Dame (USA), dominated the final, but her path to gold was anything but straightforward. In the quarterfinals, she produced one of the most dramatic comebacks of the competition against Italy’s Alberta Santuccio. Trailing 9–2, Muhari outscored Santuccio 12–4 and secured a 14–13 overtime victory.
Muhari followed that performance by edging Ukraine’s Anna Maksymenko 15–14 in the semifinals. On the opposite side of the bracket, Louis Marie advanced to the final by defeating her French teammate Marie Florence Candassamy—winner of the Tunis Grand Prix two weeks earlier—15–12. Maksymenko and Candassamy each earned bronze medals.
Final Rankings – Women’s Individual Epee
Eszter Muhari (HUN, gold), Alexandra Louis Marie (FRA, silver), Anna Maksymenko (UKR, bronze), Marie Florence Candassamy (FRA, bronze), Sera Song (KOR), Alberta Santuccio (ITA), Lili Buki (HUN), Lauren Rembi (FRA).
In the men’s competition, which featured a field of 250 fencers, Tristan Tulen of the Netherlands claimed gold by defeating Italy’s Simone Mencarelli 12–7 in the final. The 34-year-old, ranked 27th in the world, had previously earned World Cup and Grand Prix bronze medals, making his first gold a career-best achievement.
Tulen’s defining bout came in the round of 16, where he upset reigning Olympic (Paris 2024) and World Champion (Tbilisi 2025) Koki Kano of Japan, 15–11. Employing a daring defensive strategy built around sharp parries, Tulen prevailed in their first-ever meeting.
In the semifinals, Tulen defeated Dmitriy Gusev (_AIN) 11–7. Mencarelli advanced to the final by scoring a major upset of top-ranked Hungarian Gergely Siklósi, winning 15–9. Siklósi, the Tokyo 2021 Olympic silver medallist, 2019 World Champion, and current World Championship silver medallist (Tbilisi 2025), went on to claim bronze alongside Gusev.
Final Rankings – Men’s Individual Epee
Tristan Tulen (NED, gold), Simone Mencarelli (ITA, silver), Gergely Siklósi (HUN, bronze), Dmitriy Gusev (_AIN, bronze), Mohamed Elsayed (EGY), Jacob Jurka (CZE), Roman Svichkar (UKR), Gabriel Feinberg (USA).
Mr Abdel Moneim El-Husseiny, Interim President of the International Fencing Federation, expressed his sincere gratitude and appreciation to Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani for her tremendous support, as well as to the Qatar Fencing Federation and the organising committee for their exceptional efforts in delivering the Grand Prix event at such an impressive level.
He also praised the professional contribution of his colleagues within the International Fencing Federation and commended the spirit of dedication and commitment shown by the Qatari youth volunteers, who served as an exemplary model of organisation, hospitality, and on-field support.
Watch for upcoming FIE Grand Prix events, including Turin, Italy (foil, Feb. 5-7) and Budapest, Hungary (epee, Mar. 13-15). Complete and official results and photos for this event can be found on the FIE website. To watch the entire competition, along with any other FIE senior event, go to www.FencingTV.com.