The 3rd-ranked Alberta Santuccio of Italy scored a heart-stopping 13-12 overtime victory over Hungary’s 4th-ranked and Paris 2024 bronze medalist Eszter Muhari to capture the women’s épée Grand Prix gold medal at the Coliseo Ivan de Bedout in Medellín.
Santuccio battled through a field of 147 fencers with a road that included victories over Lili Buki of Hungary, 15-9; Lee Hyein of Korea, 15-13; Alexandra Ehler of Germany, 13-9; and Alexandra Louis-Marie of France, 15-10. In the semifinals, she edged Marie-Florence Candassamy of France, 11-9.
In the other semifinal, Muhari defeated world No. 1 Katrina Lehis of Estonia, 15-11, avenging last month’s Grand Prix final in Budapest, where Lehis had narrowly beaten Muhari 12-11 for the gold medal.
Lehis and Candassamy each earned bronze medals.
The final bout featured a dramatic momentum swing. Muhari appeared firmly in control after building a 9-6 advantage heading into the third and final period. But following the one-minute break, Santuccio reeled off three consecutive touches to level the score and completely shift the momentum of the match. As the period wore on, Muhari appeared to tire while Santuccio continued to press forward aggressively.
After regulation ended up tied 12-12, Muhari called for medical personnel and was granted a five-minute medical timeout as she attempted to recover before the decisive overtime touch.
In overtime, Santuccio — who had relied throughout the bout on strong blade actions to close the distance against the taller Muhari — drew out Muhari’s attack, executed a clean parry, and landed the winning riposte to seal the victory.
The result marked the fourth podium finish of the season for both fencers.
Final Ranking – Women’s Individual Epee
Alberta Santuccio (ITA, Gold)
Eszter Muhari (HUN, Silver)
Katrina Lehis (EST, Bronze)
Marie-Florence Candassamy (FRA, Bronze)
Alexandra Louis Marie (FRA)
Tierna Oxenreider (USA)
Aliya Luty (FRA)
Lizzie Asis (VEN)