Fencing Worlds: Marie-Florence Candassamy crowned in epee

French fencer Marie-Florence Candassamy was crowned world epee champion for the first time on Tuesday in Milan by beating Italy’s Alberta Santuccio in the final (15-12). The 32-year-old fencer offers French fencing its first medal on the first day of these World Fencing Championships, the last before the Paris-2024 Olympic Games in a year. This is the West Indian’s first world podium and even the first for French women’s epee since 2010 and the coronation of Maureen Nisima in Paris. Before the Olympic deadline, the weapon confirms its return to the fore after missing the team qualification for the Tokyo Olympics. To say that she had never won a final at the highest level: three lost this season alone, including one against this same Italian in November during the World Cup stage in Tallinn. His two European Championship finals, in 2014 and 2019, had not smiled on him either. Despite this liability and the din of the “tifosi”, with among them the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella, pushing the Italian, Marie-Florence Candassamy perfectly mastered her final. She quickly broke away (4-0) surpassing the maximum tension of the start: a single touch in the first set of three minutes. His shrill raptor cries punctuated the match until the final release. Because this title crowns a year of watchmaking regularity: four podiums in eight World Cup stages. One year from the Paris-2024 Olympics.