The French fencing team hits the mark. After the gold double of Romain Cannone (epee) and Ysaora Thibus (foil) on Tuesday, Enzo Lefort, reigning world champion, retained his foil crown on Wednesday July 20 at the Cairo fencing world championships.
Fifth unfortunate at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, Enzo Lefort beat the Italian Tommaso Marini in the final, 15 touches to 14, after a suspenseful end to the match. The Guyanese led 10 touches to 4 before seeing his opponent swoop down on him and equalize. This is the third title and the fourth medal for France – with silver in the saber of Tarbais Maxime Pianfetti on Monday – during these Egyptian Worlds.
Three years off
Enzo Lefort had already been pushed to his limits in the semi-finals by the American Nick Itkin, also beaten on the decisive touch (15-14). He was scared several times during the day since he had even come close to elimination in the second round, led 10-2 by the Dutchman Daniel Giacon before winning 15-14.
Bronze medalist in 2014 and world champion in 2019, Lefort had to wait three years to defend his title due to the cessation of competitions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the meantime, he had been knocked out of the quarter-finals of the individual tournament at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, but he had consoled himself with the team title. Absent from the European Championships in Antalya in Turkey in June due to a calf injury, the Guyanese had preferred to take the time to heal to be on the attack at the Worlds. Successful bet.
Before the start of the team finals on Thursday, the Blues conclude the individual events with four medals, including three titles out of six possible. On Tuesday, Romain Cannone, surprise Olympic champion in Tokyo last summer, won in epee, confirming his status as world number one, while Ysaora Thibus had also won barely twenty minutes earlier in foil. . The harvest of the Blues can continue on Thursday with the team events in women’s epee and men’s saber.