The French swordsmen won the gold medal of the European Team Fencing Championships in Krakow (Poland) on Thursday by dominating Hungary on the wire, while the men’s foil team lost in the final against Hungary. ‘Italy.
Led by three touches three minutes from the end of the match, Auriane Mallo-Breton kept her cool until the end of regulation time to allow the French to pick up the score (33-33).
And during an unbreathable decisive touch which lasted almost a minute, a lightning counter-attack from the Lyonnaise gave the victory to the Blues. “I said to myself that I had to take my time, not to rush myself,” she declared after the victory.
Auriane Mallo-Breton, Marie-Florence Candassamy and Coraline Vitalis thus retained their European title, won in 2022 in Antalya (Turkey). Thirty minutes later, the French foil fencers lost in the final against the Italian favourites, led by the young Tommaso Marini (45-39).
“It’s not a bad game, but we will have to react and correct the small faults that made the difference,” reacted Rafael Savin, 22, after the defeat. After a failed start to the match, the French foil fencers almost got back to the score, without success.
Alongside Maxime Pauty and Rafael Savin, Guyanese Enzo Lefort missed the chance to grab another major team title after Olympic gold in Tokyo.
For the French side, this second day of team competition in Poland is however in the continuity of a raid on European fencing started the day before.
The French sabers had indeed won the gold medal on Wednesday while the women foil fencers had taken the silver… and it may not be over.
“It is important that we show that we are there in all weapons. We will have to be counted on in Paris,” said Coraline Vitalis. Romain Cannone, individual gold medalist in Tokyo, is due to compete on Friday alongside the French swordsmen.