Escrime XXI N°101 English by PENCEO

ESCRIME XXI FÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE D’ESCRIME

WORLD CUP FENCING GRAND PRIX 02

INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD KRUSE 03

WORLD FENCING CHAMPIONSHIPS LEIPZIG 2017 ATHLETES COMMISSION VOTING “DONATE YOUR FENCING GEAR” PROGRAM

N° 101 DIGITAL MAGAZINE

THIS ISSU CONTENTS

WWW.FIE.ORG

Welcome to the latest edition of Escrime XXI packed with the best fencing images, video and features and showcased in striking new look. Tap table of content to navigate.

EDITORIAL SPORT INTERVIEW FIE & NATIONAL FEDERATION NEWS REVIEW OF LEIPZIG 2017

EDI TOR IAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE FIE

FIE HEAD OFFICE

PRESIDENT

Alisher Usmanov (RUS)

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (CEO)

Nathalie Rodriguez M.-H. (FRA)

SECRETARY GENERAL

Emmanuel Katsiadakis (M .H.) (GRE)

DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Evgeni Tsoukhlo (RUS)

SECRETARY TREASURER

Ferial Nadira Salhi (ALG)

VICE PRESIDENTS

Ana Pascu (M.H.) (ROU) Donald Anthony (USA) Wei Wang (CHN) Erika Aze (LAT)

Jacek Bierkowski (POL) Velichka Hristeva (BUL) Isabelle Lamour (FRA)

ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATION DIRECTOR

Elena Murdaca (ITA)

ACCOUNTING MANAGER

Margarita Berdoz (SUI)

ASSISTANT TO THE DIRECTOR

Gabrielle Meylan (SUI)

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Joana Almeida (POR)

Yuki Ota (JPN)

Novak Perovic (RSA) Oleg Peskov (KAZ)

Giorgio Scarso (ITA)

SPORT SPORT DIRECTOR

Krisztian Kulcsar (HUN)

Pascal Tesch (LUX)

SPORT TECHNOLOGY AND ADMINISTRATION MANAGER

Natalia Bodrova (RUS)

Aron Szilagyi (HUN)

SPORT OPERATIONS MANAGER

Sophie Treyvaud (SUI)

Bence Szabo (HUN)

PRESIDENT, AFRICAN FENCING CONFEDERATION

Mbagnick Ndiaye (SEN)

PRESIDENT, PAN-AMERICAN FENCING CONFEDERATION

Vitaly Logvin

PRESIDENT, ASIAN FENCING CONFEDERATION

Celso L. Dayrit (M.H.) (PHI)

PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN FENCING CONFEDERATION

Stanislav Pozdnyakov (RUS)

CMTV DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR

Elena Grishina (RUS)

PRESIDENT, OCEANIAN FENCING CONFEDERATION

Helen Smith (M.H.) (AUS)

IT MANAGER

Marina Shturbabina (UKR)

DIGITAL COORDINATOR

Maria Ntanou (GRE)

HEAD OF FIE TV PRODUCTION

Barna Heder (HUN)

FIE TV PRODUCTION ASSISTANT

Svetlana Krasnokoutskaya (RUS)

PHOTOGRAPHY

Serge Timacheff (USA) Augusto Bizzi (ITA)

(MEX)

COMMUNICATION, MARKETING, TV

“ PLEASE JOIN ME IN ENJOYING AN EXCITING NEW YEAR OF FENCING ” Dear Friends, Once again, time is passing quickly and we are already nearing the completion of our first fencing season in the new Olympic quadrennial. Well on our way on the Road to Tokyo 2020, the FIE has successfully completed a full set of world cups and Grand Prix competitions around the globe.

FOREWORD

Our nine-city Grand Prix tour, which recently finished

The future is in our hands: It is up to us to take advantage of

with events in Bogota, Shanghai, and Moscow, has been a

the talent, resources, and support with which we are blessed,

resounding success, attracting world-class, international

and to win the hearts of people everywhere so that they may

fencer. At the same time, the numerous world cups and zonal

share our passion.

events give even more opportunities for established as well as newer fencers to show their abilities. In this new quadrennial,

As we approach the grand finale of this season, the Senior

we have already seen many promising talents on the

World Fencing Championships in Leipzig, Germany, I am

international fencing pistes, alongside and competing against

optimistic and confident we all have everything necessary to

well-known athletes from previous years.

take fencing to a new level of achievement and success. Please join me in participating in building and creating a bright,

Now is the time for the FIE and the world fencing community

dazzling future for our sport.

to begin planning for a major success in Tokyo. Our Executive Committee, commissions, and Councils, along with the

Alisher Usmanov

FIE staff, are working hard to be innovative and efficient as

FIE PRESIDENT

they collaborate to develop bold new programs to bring fencing to eager new audiences. We are together creating programs, promotions, and informational efforts in new and interesting ways that allow fencing to grow in popularity and participation.

FOREWORD

THE WAY TO

VICTORY

GERMANY

MAY 2, 2017

TAUBERBISCHOFSHEIM, WOMEN’S FOIL WORLD CUP USA’S KIEFER, TEAM ITALY WIN WOMEN’S FOIL WORLD CUP IN GERMANY The world’s top-two women’s foilists battled over the past weekend for first place at the Reinhold-Wurth-Cup Women’s Foil World Cup event in Germany’s home of fencing, Fecht-Club Tauberbischofsheim. World number-one USA fencer Lee Kiefer took on Italy’s champion and second-ranked Arianna Errigo in the final, with a razor-thin victory going to the American, 15-14. Italy took home the gold in the team event.

WORLD CUP

It was an all-star line-up of women’s foil finals, with Errigo defeating

win over Russia in the semi, 41-39. That left France to take on Russia

home-favorite Carolin Golubytskyi in the semi-final, 15-5, while Kiefer

for bronze, which the French took after a 45-37 win.

took-out Russian star Inna Deriglazova with another narrow victory, 15-14, in the other semi round. With more than 150 participants,

The top-eight overall individual ranking from Tauberbischofsheim

virtually every top-ranked women’s foil fencer from around the globe

and winning the Reinhold-Wurth-Cup places Lee Kiefer at the top

was at the event, vying for gold.

(USA, gold), Arianna Errigo (ITA, silver), Inna Deriglazova (RUS,

“I was excited to have a strong competition after my recent rise in world ranking,’ said Kiefer. ‘It was a lot of fun having close bouts in the finals and semifinals. Every time I make it on the podium, it is still an unreal feeling!’.” In the women’s team foil event, with a total of 16 teams competing,

bronze), Carolin Golubytskyi (GER, bronze), Nicole Ross (USA), Ines Boubakri (TUN), Leyla Pirieva (RUS), and Fanny Kreiss (HUN). Overall, the top-eight team rankings place Italy in first place (gold), followed by Germany (silver), France (bronze), Russia, USA, Canada, Japan, and Hungary.

Italy defeated Germany for gold, 45-33, after winning a closer match in the semi-final against France, 45-40. Germany also had a narrow

WORLD CUP

TEAM RESULTS

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

RUSSIA

MAY 8, 2017

ST. PETERSBURG, MEN’S FOIL WORLD CUP ITALY’S GAROZZO, TEAM FRANCE VICTORIOUS IN ST. PETERSBURG MEN’S FOIL WORLD CUP Olympic gold medallist Daniele Garozzo of Italy scored another victory this weekend in St. Petersburg, Russia, by winning the Men’s Individual Foil World Cup fencing competition. France also took a gold medal in the Men’s Team Foil event. The competition took place at the historic Zimniy Stadium.

WORLD CUP

In Men’s Individual Foil, Garozzo defeated Young Ki Son of Korea, 15-9, in the quarterfinal before facing Hong Kong’s

TEAM RESULTS

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

Ka Long Cheung in the semi-final, where the Italian took a 15-12 victory. For gold, Garozzo faced his teammate and champion Andrea Cassara, whom he beat 15-13. Cassara had beaten Russia’s Timur Safin in the semi-finals; he also overcame World Champion Miles Chamley-Watson (USA) in the quarterfinals, 15-9. In the Men’s Team Foil event, France face Russia in the final, winning with a 45-34 final score. France beat Italy in the semi-final in a much closer match, ending at 45-43. Russia also had a close semi-final against USA, defeating the Americans by one point, 45-44. The USA took bronze against Italy, 45-38. The top-eight overall individual ranking from St. Petersburg included Daniele Garozzo (ITA, gold), Andrea Cassara (ITA, silver), Ka Long Cheung (HKG, bronze), Timur Safin (RUS, bronze), Miles Chamley-Watson (USA), Gerek Meinhardt (USA), Young Ki Son (KOR), and Alessandro Paroli (ITA). Overall, the top-eight team rankings place France (gold) in first place, followed by Russia (silver), USA (bronze), Italy, Korea, Japan, Ukraine and Poland.

WORLD CUP

BRAZIL

MAY 9, 2017

RIO DE JANEIRO, WOMEN’S EPEE WORLD CUP ESTONIA’S KUUSK, TEAM ITALY WIN WOMEN’S EPEE WORLD CUP IN RIO With several surprise victories over a weekend of women’s epee world cup fencing in Rio de Janeiro, May 5-7, Kristina Kuusk is returning to Estonia with a gold medal. The competition, which took place at the Brazilian Naval School under the shadow of Rio’s Sugarloaf Mountain, also featured a team epee event captured by the Italian women’s team.

WORLD CUP

Kuusk faced Russia’s Daria Martynyuk in the quarter-finals of the Women’s Individual Epee event, beating her 15-11, before having to face her teammate, Erika Kirpu, in the semi-finals that ended in a lower-scoring bout, 8-5. In the final, Kuusk fenced Germany’s Alexandra Ndolo, whom she beat 15-10. Ndolo had a close 15-14 victory in the semi-final against Poland’s Ewa Nelip. The Polish fencer had taken-out USA epeeist and Olympic team bronze medallist (London 2012) Courtney Hurley, in the round of eight, 15-8. In the Women’s Team Epee event, Italy narrowly edged-out Russia in the final with a 29-28 victory for the gold medal. Russia beat China in the semi-final, 38-32, while Italy had a wide-margin victory over Ukraine in the same round, 33-18. China took the bronze medal over Ukraine, 40-37. The top-eight overall individual ranking from Rio places Kristina Kuusk (EST, gold) in first place, followed by Alexandra Ndolo (GER, silver), Erika Kirpu (EST, bronze), Ewa Nelip (POL, bronze), Daria Martynyuk (RUS), Mara Navarria (ITA), Lis Fautsch (LUX), and Courtney Hurley (USA). Overall team rankings place Italy (gold) in first place, followed by Russia (silver), China (bronze), Ukraine, Korea, Germany, Estonia, and USA.

TEAM RESULTS WORLD CUP

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

TUNISIA

MAY 12-14, 2017

TUNIS, WOMEN’S SABRE WORLD CUP UKRAINE’S KHARLAN, TEAM ITALY WIN GOLD IN TUNIS WOMEN’S SABRE WORLD CUP Olympic medallist and World Champion Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan took gold this weekend in Tunis at the Women’s Sabre World Cup. The Italian women’s team is also traveling home with gold after winning the Women’s Team Sabre competition.

WORLD CUP

There were numerous top-level women’s fencers participating and more than 100 competitors overall. In the semi-finals, Kharlan overtook topranked Olympic gold medallist Russian Yana Egorian, 15-12, before scoring victory, 15-9, against second-ranked Hungarian Anna Marton in the goldmedal match. Marton had beaten third-ranked Manon Brunet of France in the semi-final, 15-12. In the Women’s Team Sabre event, Italy overtook Ukraine in an exciting, close match, 45-44, in the round of eight before going on to fence Japan in the semi-final. The Japanese won against top-ranked Russia in the round of eight, 45-40, but were beaten Italians in the semi-final, who won 45-34. In the final, Italy had a strong win over Poland, 45-36. The Polish women’s team beat France 45-39 in the semi-final; France then took the bronze medal against Japan, 45-41. The top-eight overall individual ranking from Tunis included Olga Kharlan (UKR, gold), Anna Marton (HUN, silver), Manon Brunet (FRA, bronze), Yana Egorian (RUS, bronze), Irene Vecchi (ITA), Rossella Gregorio (ITA), Malgorzata Kozaczuk (POL), and Lucia Martin-Portugues (ESP). The top-eight teams from Tunis included Italy (gold), Poland (silver), France (bronze), Japan, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Mexico.

TEAM RESULTS WORLD CUP

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

PARIS

MAY 12-14, 2017

PARIS, MEN’S EPEE WORLD CUP ITALY’S FICHERA, TEAM KOREA VICTORIOUS IN PARIS AT CHALLENGE SNCF RESEAU MEN’S EPEE WORLD CUP Italian Marco Fichera took gold this weekend in Paris at the Challenge SNCF Reseau Men’s Epee World Cup. The Korean men’s epee team also earned the top position at the event. The prestigious event drew more than 300 top men’s epeeists, as well as 30 international teams from around the world. The event took place at Paris’ historic Stade Pierre de Coubertin.

WORLD CUP

Fichera, who was gold medallist in the Singapore Youth Olympic Games in 2010, overcame first-ranked Olympic gold medallist Korean Sangyoung Park in the round of 16, 15-9. He then met two-time World Champion Nikolai Novosjolov of Estonia in the round of eight, whom he beat, 15-10. After then dueling against Japanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Koki Kano in the semi-final, winning 15-10, he faced home-town favorite Yannick Borel of France for gold. The Italian won the final match, 15-12. Borel had beaten Polish fencer Karol Kostka, 15-9, in the semi-final and his French teammate, Daniel Jerent, 15-13, in the quarter-final. Korea dominated the team event, winning the final against Italy, 38-29. The Korean men beat Japan in the semi-final, 34-32, while Italy took out Ukraine 40-29. Japan managed to edge-out Ukraine for the bronze medal in a low-scoring match, 26-22. The top-eight overall individual ranking from Paris include Marco Fichera (ITA, gold), Yannick Borel (FRA, silver), Koki Kano (JPN, bronze), Karol Kostka (POL, bronze), Nikolai Novosjolov (EST), Daniel Jerent (FRA), Vadim Anokhin (RUS), and Ronan Gustin (FRA). The top-eight teams from Paris included Korea (gold), Italy (silver), Japan (bronze), Ukraine, France, Switzerland, Hungary, and Russia. More information may be found about the event at its official

TEAM RESULTS

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS WORLD CUP

website, www.challenge-sncfreseau.fr.

SPAIN

MAY 19-21, 2017

MADRID, MEN’S SABRE WORLD CUP GERMANY’S HARTUNG, TEAM ITALY TAKE GOLD IN MADRID SABRE WORLD CUP Winning by a single touch to a thrilled audience, Germany’s Max Hartung won the individual finals of the Madrid Men’s Sabre World Cup this weekend. The Italian men’s sabre team also took gold in the team finals of the World Cup. More than 175 world-class fencers participated in the event, with teams coming from 21 countries.

WORLD CUP

The final bout in individual competition was closer than any match in the quarter- or semi-finals, with Hartung finishing 15-14 against USA’s Eli Dershwitz. The 27-year-old Hartung beat Hungary’s Andras Szatmari in the semi-final, 15-7; the Hungarian won gold earlier this year in the February Sabre World Cup in Padua, Italy. Dershwitz had beaten another Hungarian, two-time gold Olympic gold medallist Aron Szilagyi, in the other semi-final, 15-8. This was the first gold medal at the World Cup level for Hartung. In men’s team competition, Italy prevailed and won the gold medal over Russia, 45-34, in the final match. Prior to the final, Italy faced Romania, whom they beat, 45-39. Russia fenced Hungary in the other semi-final, winning 45-38. In the bronze-medal match, Hungary took Romania with a close result, 45-43. The top-eight overall individual ranking from Madrid include Max Hartung (GER, gold), Eli Dershwitz (USA, silver), Andras Szatmari (HUN, bronze), Aron Szilagyi (HUN, bronze), Enrico Berre (ITA), Luigi Samele (ITA), Guillermo Mancheno (ESP), and Dmitriy Danilenko (RUS). Overall, the top-eight team rankings place Italy (gold) first, followed by Russia (silver), Hungary (bronze), Romania, USA, Iran, France, and Germany.

TEAM RESULTS WORLD CUP

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

CHINA

MAY 21, 2017

ITALY’S BATINI, BRITAIN’S KRUSE WIN GOLD AT THE SHANGHAI FOIL FENCING GRAND PRIX With nearly 300 international top-ranked fencers participating, Great Britain and Italy are taking home gold this weekend after the Shanghai Foil Fencing Grand Prix. A best-ever win for Italy’s Martina Batini, this was also the season’s best result for 33-year-old British fencer Richard Kruse. The event also featured several lower-ranked world fencers achieve best-ever finishes as the first year in the new Olympic quadrennial begins the Road to Tokyo 2020.

GRAND PRIX

The British fencing star took-on Italian Alessio Foconi in the final, beating him 15-8 after a long day of competition for both athletes. Kruse defeated France’s Erwan Le Pechoux in the semi-finals, 15-13. Le Pechoux had twice previously won this same Grand Prix in Shanghai, and this was the tightest match of the day for Kruse. Foconi fenced and beat Russian Dmitry Zherebchenko in the semi-final, 15-9, for whom a bronze medal is a best-ever result at the Grand Prix level. Top-seeded fencers Alexander Massialas (USA) and Daniele Garozzo were eliminated in early rounds. In an edge-of-your-seat final, world number-one and Olympic champion Inna Deriglazova of Russia lost by a single touch, 15-14, to 28-year-old Martina Batini of Italy in the Shanghai gold-medal final of the women’s foil event—a best result for the Italian. Batini took-out Russian Svetlana Tripapina in the semi-final, 15-10, while Deriglazova took a wide-margin win in the semi, 15-5, against Ysaora Thibus of France. World number two and Italy’s powerhouse fencer, Arianna Errigo, lost in the round of 16. The Shanghai competition is one of nine cities in which the International Fencing Federation (FIE) is holding major Grand Prix events during this 2016-2017 fencing season. The competitions all lead to the upcoming 2017 Senior Fencing World Championships, being held this July in Leipzig, Germany. Overall top-eight ranking for the men include Richard Kruse (GBR, gold), Alessio Foconi (ITA, silver), Erwan Le Pechoux (FRA, bronze), Dmitry Zherebchenko (RUS, bronze), Lorenzo Nista (ITA), Takahiro Shikine (JPN), Jun Heo (KOR), and Maximilien Chastanet (FRA). Top eight for the women included Martina Batini (ITA, gold), Inna Deriglazova (RUS, silver), Ysaora Thibus (FRA, bronze), Svetlana Tripapina (RUS, bronze), Nicole Ross (USA), Eleanor Harvey (CAN), Alice Volpi (ITA), and Beatrice Monaco (ITA). Additional and information for the Shanghai Foil Grand Prix may be found on the FIE Web site, with men’s results located here and women’s results here.

GRAND PRIX

COLOMBIA

MAY 28, 2017

HUNGARY’S SZASZKOVACS, UKRAINE’S NIKISHIN WIN GOLD AT THE BOGOTA EPEE FENCING GRAND PRIX More than 200 of the world’s best men’s and women’s fencing athletes competed this weekend in Colombia at the 2017 Bogota Men’s and Women’s Epee Grand Prix. Bogdan Nikishin of Ukraine and Emese SzaszKovacs of Hungary took the men’s and women’s gold medals, respectively. One of nine world Grand Prix events sponsored by the International Fencing Federation (FIE), this is the eighth in the series leading to the Senior World Fencing Championships this July in Leipzig, Germany.

GRAND PRIX

This was a second Grand Prix gold for the 37-year-old Nikishin, who won last year in Rio. He faced Italy’s Marco Fichera in a low-scoring final match, 7-3. For Fichera, the silver medal is a best-ever win at this level. In the semi-final, Nikishin overcame another Italian, Edoardo Munzone, whom he beat 13-7. Fichera took-out higher-ranked Kyoungdoo Park in the semifinals, 15-11; Park defeated Fichera’s teammate and World Champion, Paolo Pizzo, in the quarter-finals, 15-14. Hungarian Olympic gold medallist from Rio 2016, 34-year-old Emese Szasz-Kovacs scored victory again in the Bogota individual women’s event. She defeated Man Wai Vivian Kong of Hong Kong in a close final, finishing 15-13. Szasz-Kovacs won against Olympian and previous Grand Prix winner (Budapest 2015) Shin A Lam of Korea in the semi-finals, with another close finish, 10-9. Kong won the semi-final match against Italy’s Alberta Santuccio, for whom this was a best-ever result. Kong also beat Russian epee champion Tatiana Logunova, 15-8, in the quarter-finals. Overall top-eight ranking for the men’s epee event include Bogdan Nikishin (UKR, gold), Marco Fichera (ITA, silver), Edoardo Munzone (ITA, bronze), Kyoungdoo Park (KOR, bronze), Enrico Garozzo (ITA), Jinsun Jung (KOR), Pavel Sukhov (RUS), and Paolo Pizzo (ITA). Top-eight for the women included Emese Szasz-Kovacs (HUN, gold), Man Wai Vivian Kong (HKG, silver), Alberta Santuccio (ITA, bronze), Shin A Lam (KOR, bronze), Tatiana Logunova (RUS), Injeong Choi (KOR), Chengzi Xu (CHN), and Giulia Rizzi (ITA). Additional and information for the Bogota Epee Grand Prix may be found on the FIE Web site, with men’s results located here and women’s results here. The official website for the Bogota Grand Prix is located here.

GRAND PRIX

RUSSIA

JUNE 4, 2017

FRANCE’S LEMBACH, ITALY’S CURATOLI EARN VICTORIES AT MOSCOW SABRE FENCING GRAND PRIX Moscow’s famous “VTP Ice Palace” this weekend featured nearly 300 toplevel world sabre fencers at the Moscow Men’s and Women’s Sabre Fencing Grand Prix. France and Italy took home gold medals after the three-day event, with Charlotte Lembach winning the women’s event, and Luca Curatoli taking the men’s title. One of nine world Grand Prix events sponsored by the International Fencing Federation (FIE), this is the third and final sabre event in the series leading to the Senior World Fencing Championships this July in Leipzig, Germany.

GRAND PRIX

The men’s event featured multiple Olympic and world-champion fencers looking for victories, and many newer faces to elite world fencing also earned high-level results. This was a best-ever individual win for Italy’s 22-year-old Curatoli, who took a bronze in March at the sabre Grand Prix in Seoul, Korea, beating Korean World Championship silver medallist Bongil Gu, 15-13, in the final. In the semi-final, the Italian took-out another top-ranked Korean fencer, four-time Grand Prix winner and Olympic bronze medallist Junghwan Kim, 15-11. Prior to that, in the round of eight, Curatoli also beat USA’s Olympic silver medallist, Daryl Homer, 15-13. In the second semi-final, Gu beat Hungarian two-time Olympic gold medallist Aron Szilagyi in a close match, 15-14. The women’s sabre competition also featured numerous top athletes from Olympic and world events, and for France’s 29-year-old Charlotte Lembach, winning in Moscow this weekend was a best-ever result. In the final, she overcame Hungarian Anna Marton, 15-10, for whom this was her third Grand Prix silver medal. Lembach beat Romanian Bianca Pascu in the semi-final, 15-11, and Marton took-out France’s Caroline Queroli in the other semi match, 15-5. For both Pascu and Queroli, winning a Grand Prix bronze are best-in-career results. Top-five-ranked fencers Kim Jiyeon (KOR) and Manon Brunet (FRA) both went out in the round of eight.

GRAND PRIX

Overall top-eight ranking for the men’s sabre event included Luca Curatoli (ITA, gold), Bongil Gu (KOR, silver), Junghwan Kim (KOR, bronze), Aron Szilagyi (HUN, bronze), Daryl Homer (USA), Sanguk Oh (KOR), Alexey Yakimenko (RUS), and Tiberiu Dolniceanu (ROU). Top-eight for the women included Charlotte Lembach (FRA, gold), Anna Marton (HUN, silver), Bianca Pascu (ROU, bronze), Caroline Queroli (FRA, bronze), Manon Brunet (FRA), Jiyeon Kim (KOR), Chika Aoki (JPN), and Anna Bashta (RUS). Additional and information for the Moscow Sabre Grand Prix may be found on the FIE Web site, with men’s results located here and women’s results here. The official website for the Moscow Grand Prix is located here.

GRAND PRIX

EGYPT

JUNE 12, 2017

AFRICAN ZONAL FENCING CHAMPIONSHIPS FINISH IN CAIRO

he 17th Senior African Fencing Championships finished today in Cairo, Egypt after completing 12 events

including men’s and women’s team and individual competition in foil, sabre, and epee. The event, which took place at the famous Cairo International Stadium in Nasr City, drew nearly 100 fencers from all parts of Africa as well as country teams from six nations. Overall, Tunisia and Egypt took the most gold medals at the Championships.

ZONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

EGYPT. CAIRO

Individual Competition. In epee, Ivory Coast’s Gwladys Gbahi Sakoa took the gold over Egypt’s Salwa Gaber, winning by a single touch, 15-14. For the men, Ayman Fayez of Egypt was victorious over Satya Gunput of Mauritius in another close match, 15-13. In foil, Tunisia’s Ines Boubakri, Olympic bronze medallist and currently ranked seventh in the world, overtook Egypt’s Yara Elsharkawy, 15-6, for the gold. For the men, Egypt’s Olympic silver medallist, Alaaeldin Abouelkassem beat Tunisia’s Mohamed Samandi, 15-10. For sabre, it was a Tunisian sweep. Tunisia’s Azza Besbes won gold by a wide margin, 15-3, over fellow Tunisian Yosra Ghrairi, in the women’s event. For the men, Tunisia’s Fares Ferjani took the victory over teammate Hichem Smandi, 15-9. Team Competition. For the epee team competitions, Tunisia prevailed over Egypt, 45-38, with South Africa taking bronze in the women’s event. For the men, Egypt won over Morocco, 45-37, with Senegal taking bronze.

ZONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

EGYPT. CAIRO

In foil, Egypt scored victory in the final match over Algeria, 45-30, in the women’s event, and also took the gold over Tunisia, 45-37, in the men’s competition. Tunisia took the bronze medal for the women and South Africa for the men. In sabre, Egypt was again the winner in women’s competition, beating Tunisia, 45-37. The reverse happened for the Tunisian men, who won the final against Egypt, 45-43. Senegal earned bronze for the women and the women’s events. Final results and details may be found on the FIE Web site, here.

ZONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

CANADA

JUNE 19, 2017

PAN-AMERICAN ZONAL FENCING CHAMPIONSHIPS FINISH IN MONTREAL

he Senior Pan-American Fencing Championships have finished in Montreal, Canada, after completing 12 events including men’s and women’s team and individual competition in foil, sabre, and epee.

The event, which took place at the Centre Pierre Charbonneau in Montreal’s Olympic Park, featured about 200 fencers from throughout the Americas. The USA won eight of the 12 events, followed by Mexico and Venezuela, who each took home two gold medals.

ZONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

CANADA. MONTREAL

Individual Competition. In epee, two Olympian sisters from the USA took gold and silver in the women’s event, with Kelley Hurley overcoming Courtney Hurley in the final, 15-13. Kelley Hurley defeated Brazilian Olympian Nathalie Moellhausen, 15-11, in the semi-final, while Courtney Hurley beat teammate Katharine Holmes, 15-8, in the same round. For the men, Olympic gold medallist Ruben Limardo Gascon of Venezuela prevailed over Colombia’s John Edison Rodriguez for the gold, winning by a touch, 11-10. Limardo defeated USA’s Benjamin Bratton in the semi-final, 14-7, while Rodriguez took out Brazil’s Alexandre Camargo, 15-10. In foil, it was a USA sweep, taking all medals for both men and women. World numbertwo women’s foilist Lee Kiefer won gold, defeating Sabrina Massialas, 15-11, in the final. Kiefer beat Nicole Ross in the semi-final, 15-13, while Massialas defeated Margaret Lu, 1210, in the same quadrant. For the men, Race Imboden overtook Alexander Massialas, 1512, to win gold. Imboden beat Gerek Meinhardt in the semi-final, 15-11, while Massialas overcame World Champion Miles Chamley-Watson by a single touch, 15-14. For sabre, Mexico’s Paola Pliego won career-best gold in the final against teammate Julieta Toledo, 15-11. Pliego beat Canadian Marissa Ponich, 15-7, in the semi-final, while Toledo defeated Venezuela’s Shia Rodriguez in the same round, 15-4. In the men’s event, it was another USA final, with Olympic silver medallist Daryl Homer beating Eli Dershwitz— who has won this event twice before—in the final, 15-10. Dershwitz beat Canada’s Joseph Polossifakis in the semi-final, 15-10, while Homer beat teammate Jeff Spear, 15-12.

ZONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

CANADA. MONTREAL

Team Competition. In epee team competition, the USA women’s team had a very strong day, beating local favorite Canada in the final, 45-26, for the gold medal. Prior to the final, the USA took-out Chile, 45-19, in the semi-finals, while Canada beat Brazil, 45-36. Brazil beat Chile for the bronze, 45-24. For the men, Venezuela defeated Argentina in the final match, 45-34. The Venezuelans overcame Canada in the semi-final, 45-30, and Argentina beat USA, 45-40. The bronze medal went to Canada over USA, 41-36. The USA women scored victory in the women’s team foil event over Canada, with a strong finish score of 45-26. The USA beat Mexico in the semi-final, 45-13, while Canada again beat Brazil, 41-32. Brazil took the bronze medal against Mexico, 45-38. For the men, USA overcame Brazil in the gold-medal match, 45-37. Prior to the final, the USA beat Puerto Rico in the semi-final, 45-15, and Brazil took-out Mexico, 45-33. Mexico took home the bronze medal against Puerto Rico, 45-32. In sabre, Mexico scored gold, beating the USA in the women’s final, 45-40. The USA defeated Venezuela in the semi-final, 45-35, while Mexico beat Canada, 45-39. Venezuela won the bronze against Canada, 45-27. For the men, the USA was victorious over Canada in the gold round, winning 45-29. The USA also beat Colombia in the semi-final, 45-23, while Canada overcame Venezuela, 45-34. Venezuela took bronze against Colombia, 45-35. Final results and details may be found on the FIE Web site, here.

ZONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

po w e r f u l n c e n t r a ti o n c o nc di n at i o n passi o n coo r din p o w e r f u l di sc i pl i n e n c e n t r a ti o n c o nc i o n c o o r din at i o n p a ss io d iisc s c i pl i n e po w e r f u l o n c o n c e n t r a ti o n ssiio

GEORGIA

JUNE 19, 2017

EUROPEAN ZONAL FENCING CHAMPIONSHIPS FINISH IN TBILISI

he Senior European Fencing Championships have finished in Tbilisi, Georgia, after completing 12 events including men’s and women’s team and individual

competition in foil, sabre, and epee. The event, which took place at the New Tbilisi Gymnastic Arena, drew broad participation from country teams and more than 400 individual fencers from throughout the European continent. Italy took the most gold medals (four) throughout the Championships, followed by Russia and France.

ZONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

GEORGIA. TBILISI

Individual Competition. In epee, Russian women’s epeeist Violetta Kolobova, currently ranked fourth in the world, took the Zonal title for the second time in her career. She overtook Germany’s Alexandra Ndolo, 15-10, in the final match. Kolobova beat top-ranked Olympic gold medalist Emese Szasz-Kovacs 15-13 in the semi-final, and Ndolo defeated World Champion Estonian Julia Beljajeva, 15-12, to make the final. For the men, France’s Yannick Borel, ranked first in the world, took the gold for the second year in a row, defeating World Champion Paolo Pizzo of Italy, 15-10. Borel took out two-time World Champion Nikolai Novosjolov of Estonia in the semi-final, as well, 15-10. In foil, two World Champion and Olympic medallists battled for women’s gold. Olympic gold medallist and World Champion Inna Deriglazova of Russia was overtaken in the final by World Champion and Olympic silver medallist, Arianna Errigo of Italy, in a very close match that ended 15-14. Errigo beat France’s Ysaora Thibus in the semi-final, 15-9. For the men, Olympic gold medallist and top-ranked Italian Daniele Garozzo beat Olympic bronze medallist and third-ranked Russian Timur Safin, 15-12 for the gold. Garozzo defeated his fourth-ranked teammate, Giorgio Avola, 15-9, in the semi-final. For sabre, and to the delight of the Georgian audience, a local athlete took top honors, with Georgia’s Teodora Kakhiani winning 15-8 over Italy’s Rosella Gregorio. Kakhiani beat Hungarian Liza Pusztai, 15-12, in the semi-final. For the men, Germany took the gold medal with World Championship bronze medallist Max Hartung beating two-time Olympic gold medallist Aron Szilagyi of Hungary in the final, 15-7. In a spirited match but disappointing result for the Georgian audience, Hartung took out Georgian Sandro Bazadze, 15-11, in the semi-final.

ZONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

GEORGIA. TBILISI

Team Competition. For the epee team competitions, the French women’s team prevailed by a single point over Russia, 42-41, for the gold medal. In the semi-final, France took-out Estonia, 45-30, while Russia beat Romania, 45-41. Romania took bronze over Estonia, 45-38. In men’s team epee, it was another single-point win with Russia beating Ukraine, 33-32. Russia beat Germany in the semi-final, 45-30, and Ukraine defeated Czech Republic in a low-scoring semifinal match, 18-14. Similarly, in the bronze match, Czech Republic beat Germany, 23-22. In foil, the Italian women’s team had a strong win against Russia for the gold medal, 45-31. The Italians beat Germany in the semi-final, 45-36, while Russia beat Hungary, 45-27. In the bronze match, Germany was victorious over Hungary by a wide margin, 45-18. In the men’s team foil event, France closely beat Russia, 45-43, in a tight match for gold. The French beat the Germans in the semi-final, 45-26, while Russia overcame Italy, 45-40. Italy earned the bronze against Germany, 45-40. In sabre, it was again a tight match, with the Italian women’s team beating Russia by a touch, 45-44, for the gold. Russia beat Hungary in the semi-final, 45-25, and Italy had defeated France, 45-39, in the same round. France took home the bronze medal against Hungary, 45-37. In men’s sabre, it was the reverse of the women’s results, with Russia winning over Italy, 45-41, for the gold medal. The Italians had beaten Germany, 45-39, in the semi-final, with Russia beating Hungary with the same score. Hungary took bronze over Germany, 45-28. Final results and details may be found on the FIE Web site, here, and the official Web site for the European Senior Fencing Championships may be found here.

ZONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

CHINA

JUNE 20, 2017

BLUE CROSS 2017 ASIAN FENCING CHAMPIONSHIPS FINISH IN HONG KONG

he 2017 Blue Cross Asian Fencing Championships have finished in Hong Kong, China,

after completing 12 events including men’s and women’s team and individual competition in foil, sabre, and epee. The event, which took place at the AsiaWorld-Expo, featured more than 300 top-level fencers from throughout Asia and Oceania. Korea won seven of the 12 events, followed by China, which took four gold medals.

ZONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

CHINA. HONG KONG

Individual Competition. In epee, Korea’s Young Mi Kang took the gold medal in the women’s event, overtaking Hong Kong’s Man Wai Vivian Kong in the final by a single touch, 13-12. This was a careerbest for the 32-year-old Kang, who beat China’s Mingye Zhu in the semi-final also by a point, 8-7. Kong beat Olympic bronze medallist and number-two-ranked Yiwen Sun of China in the semi-final, 15-13. For the men, Korea and Kazakhstan faced-off in the finals, with Ruslan Kurbanov (KAZ) taking a career-best gold over Korean Youngjun Kweon, 15-10. Kweon beat third-ranked World Champion bronze and silver medallist Kyoungdoo Park in the semi-final, 15-12, while Kurbanov overtook eighthranked Jinsun Jung in the other semi-final, 15-13. In foil, it was another career-best gold for China’s Xingxin Huo in the women’s event, where she beat Olympic silver and World Championship bronze medallist Hyunhee Nam of Korea, 15-6. Huo also beat World Championship silver medallist Korean Hee Sook Jeon in the semi-final, 12-11, while Nam defeated Japan’s Minami Kano, 15-11, in the same round. For the men, it was again career-bests for both fencers, with Korea’s Taegyu Ha overcoming Hong Kong’s Ka Long Cheung in the final, 15-11. Cheung beat Korea’s Young Ki Son in the semi-final, 15-9, while Ha won the round against China’s Haiwei Chen, 15-12. For sabre, Korean Olympic gold medallist Jiyeon Kim scored victory in the final over her teammate, Jiyeon Seo, 15-11, in the women’s event. In the semi-final, both Koreans scored widemargin victories over their opponents, with Kim beating Japan’s Misaki Emura, 15-9, and Seo winning against China’s Xinting Yu with the same score. In the men’s event, fourth-ranked World Championship silver and bronze medallist Bongil Gu of Korea won gold against Iran’s Mohammad Rahbari, 15-8. Gu beat another Iranian, Ali Pakdaman, 15-7, in the semi-final, while Rahbari overtook Korea’s Junho Kim, 15-13, in the same round.

ZONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

CHINA. HONG KONG

Team Competition. In epee team competition, China prevailed over Korea in the women’s event, 34-30. The Chinese women beat Hong Kong in the semi-final, 45-37, while Korea defeated Japan with the same score. Japan took the bronze medal, 45-41, over Hong Kong. For the men’s event, Korea was victorious over China, 45-35, in the gold-medal round. Korea beat Hong Kong in the semi-final, 45-40, and China took-out Japan with the same score. Japan also took bronze in this event over Hong Kong, winning with a score of 45-30. In the foil team events, the Korean women’s team scored a strong win over Japan, 45-30, in the final match to win gold. Japan had an even stronger win over China in the semi-final, winning it 45-24, while Korea beat Hong Kong, 45-34. China took the bronze medal over Hong Kong, 39-26. For the men’s team event, China also had a wide-margin win over Korea in the final, 4529. Korea had a much closer score in the semi-final, where they beat Hong Kong, 45-41; China defeated Japan in the same round, 45-31. Hong Kong took the bronze medal, beating Japan, 45-35. In team sabre, China took gold in the women’s final, defeating Korea in an exciting match with a close score of 45-43. Both teams beat opponents—Korea winning over Hong Kong and China beating Japan—in the semi-final with the same score for each of 45-30. Japan earned the bronze over Hong Kong, 45-38. For the men’s event, Korea won the gold medal over Iran in a close, audience-pleasing match ending with a 45-42 score. Also with the same score in both semi-final matches—45-28—Korea beat China and Iran defeated Hong Kong. China took the bronze against Hong Kong, 45-34. Final results and details may be found on the FIE Web site, here.

ZONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

GREAT BRITAIN

RICHARD KRUSE 1

How important was the win for you in the Shanghai Grand Prix? It’s not often that I win a World Cup or Grand Prix. I’ve taken part in about 130 and only won 5 to date. So, I enjoy the wins when they come. What does it mean to me to win? Another few months in the top 16 of the world ranking probably - haha.

INTERVIEW

You finished 4th at the Olympics last year, can you tell us a few words about your experience at Rio 2016? I can’t be too upset about my 4th place in the Olympics because it was a personal best for me in a global championships. Also, throughout the qualification period, there was no guarantee that I would actually get a place in the Rio Olympics. It all came down to the last World Cup in Bonn. We were knocked out and therefore had to hope the right combination of teams won and lost in the rest of the competition. Thankfully for Great Britain we qualified but it was by the skin of our teeth.

What has been your training schedule over the last few months? It’s been the same as usual. I do five sessions a week Monday to Friday. For practical reasons I only do one session per day but it is a long session. From arriving in the morning until leaving in the afternoon it is about 5hrs. I warm up, take a lesson, spar, do some core exercises, warm down and then shower. Job done!

INTERVIEW – RICHARD KRUSE

What are your expectations for the biggest event of the season, the World Championships in Leipzig?

Have you faced a difficult situation that affected your sporting career and if so how did you overcome it?

You know you’re old in this game when the venues

I’ve been funded by the British Government to fence full time

for the World Champs start doubling up on

since 2004. The salary was very low (under minimum wage)

themselves! I was in Leipzig in 2005 for the World

but it still gave me a chance to be a professional fencer and

Champs then. I have no idea what will happen there

follow a dream. After coming 4th in Rio (the best Olympic

nor any expectations, fencing is like chaos theory.

result by a British fencer in over half a century) and also

I am aware that a good result will be welcomed

finishing that season 3rd in the world ranking - government

because I have a lot of points to defend from the

funding for fencing was removed so there was no more

Olympics.

funding for me! Goodbye! Nowadays times are hard, I’ve had to move back in with my parents to keep costs down

Could you tell us about your life when your not training?

and I’m in talks with various sponsors right now. It’s quite an unbelievable situation to be honest but I’ll survive somehow. Not getting rid of me that easily haha!

Fencing has given me a great life over the years in

Lastly, a question back to your start, what do you remember

many ways, not financially I should point out, but in

about when you started fencing.

terms of quality of life. I do a bit of coaching, when I’m not training, at a club in London. As you can

I remember being beaten up by a young girl on my first day

see from my routine I have a lot of free time in the

in a fencing club. At that moment I realised how clever this

afternoons when I like learning foreign languages. I

system of combat was because it doesn’t rely on size or

also enjoy travelling to obscure places in the world

strength but on knowledge!

well away from the beaten track of tourists. My next adventure will be Chisnau in Moldova.

INTERVIEW – RICHARD KRUSE