French sabers Cécilia Berder, Manon Brunet-Apithy, Sarah Noutcha and Sara Balzer won the Athens World Cup event on Sunday, counting for Olympic qualification, and are the big favorites for gold at the Games in five months in Paris.
In the final in Athens, the French dominated the Ukrainians led by Olga Kharlan 45 to 30, after beating the Italians 45 to 40 in the semi-final.
The French sabers are the reigning European champions and won silver at the 2023 Worlds last summer. They had already won the stage in Lima three weeks ago, a success which had ensured the French team qualification for the 2024 Olympics, which automatically delivers three places for the individual event.
This success comes the day after Sara Balzer’s victory in the individual event, accompanied on the podium by Manon Brunet-Apithy, third. The 28-year-old Strasbourg native, individual European vice-champion in 2023, has been unstoppable for twelve months, with four World Cup victories and a solid place as world No.1.
The sabreurs Bolade Apithy, Jean-Philippe and Sébastien Patrice and Maxime Pianfetti took third place in the World Cup stage in Padua (Italy), a podium which also guarantees them their team qualification for the Olympic Games.