Day five of the Rio 2026 Junior & Cadet Fencing World Championships belonged to the cadet individual foilists, headlined by a historic performance from American standout Jaelyn Liu. Already crowned the Junior Women’s Foil Champion earlier in the week, Liu successfully defended her cadet title to secure her third consecutive gold medal in the age category.
Liu’s victory places her in the rarest echelon of the sport’s history. She becomes only the third fencer ever to claim three consecutive Cadet World titles, joining the legendary company of Italian icon Valentina Vezzali and Hungary’s Aida Mohamed. Furthermore, Liu distinguishes herself as the first foilist to win both the Cadet and Junior World individual titles in consecutive years.
Liu, the top-ranked cadet in the world, was clinical throughout the day. She began her defence with dominant victories over Takahashi Nonoka of Japan (15-1) and South Korea’s Jung Yunyung (15-5). Her toughest test came in a narrow 13-12 quarterfinal win against Hong Kong’s Fan Bo Yee, the world number 12. Liu regained her momentum in the later rounds, defeating Australia’s Rianne Leung 15-6 and her teammate Ella Calise 15-4, before clinching the gold with a 15-8 final victory over China's Zhang Yixin.
The silver medal was awarded to the unranked Zhang Yixin of China, who produced a series of gutsy performances to reach the final. Zhang’s run was characterized by narrow escapes, including 14-13 and 12-11 wins over Türkyie’s Alara Atmaca and Russia’s Uliana Belykh, respectively. She secured her place in the gold medal match by upsetting her third-ranked teammate, Tie Zhihe, 15-14 and overwhelming Poland’s Danute Tym 15-2 in the semi-finals.
The bronze medals were shared by American Ella Calise and Poland’s Danute Tym. The unranked Calise impressed with a 15-14 win over Italy’s Martina Molteni and a 15-6 quarterfinal victory over Canada’s Adelle Chun before falling to Liu. Poland’s Tym, ranked 94th entering the day, demonstrated significant poise with a 15-13 victory over the United States' Caterina Fedeli and a quarterfinal win by the same score over Italy’s Maria Fattori. Their performances ensured that both the United States and Poland maintained their strong presence on the cadet world stage.