The French sabers, led by Sara Balzer, took third place on Sunday in Plovdiv (Bulgaria) in the last team World Cup event before the Paris Olympic Games, while foil fencer Pauline Ranvier climbed onto the podium in Shanghai.
Stopped in the semi-final (45-38) by Olga Kharlan’s Ukraine, who had lost the day before to Sara Balzer in the final, the Blues then outclassed South Korea (45-30) in the match for bronze.
The first nation by far in the world rankings, the tricolor sabers, team silver medalists in Tokyo three years ago, are among the favorites for the Olympic title under the glass roof of the Grand Palais on August 3, a few days after the individual tournament ( July 29), where Sara Balzer like Manon Brunet-Apithy, bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, represent immense chances of medals.
In foil, Pauline Ranvier also won bronze during the last world circuit tournament in Shanghai. Unlike the Olympics, there was no third-place match. This is the first individual World Cup podium since 2017 for Pauline Ranvier and even the first internationally since her 2019 World Cup final.
The Olympic team vice-champion from Tokyo lost in the semi-final against the world No.2, the Italian Martina Favaretto (15-9), but had achieved a brilliant coup in the 16th final against the vice -world champion, also transalpine, Arianna Errigo (15-11).