- Epee fencer Ian Hauri surprisingly wins the bronze medal at the European Championships in Basel.
- Max Heinzer is eliminated in the round of 32 – the last fight of his career.
- Alexis Bayard fails in the quarterfinals and narrowly misses a medal.
The Swiss épée fencers win a bronze medal at the European Championships in Basel. The 22-year-old Genevan Ian Hauri lost 7:15 in the semifinals to the Frenchman Luidgi Midelton. At the European Championships, unlike the Olympic Games, the losers of the semifinals no longer fight for bronze – both receive a medal.
Hauri beat Olympic champion Romain Cannone from France 15:9 in the round of 16. Since this coup, the Frenchman has been unstoppable. He won the fights in the round of 16 and quarter-finals with 15:5 and 15:9. Hauri, currently number 71 in the world rankings, was on the U20 team that won European Championship gold two years ago.
Alexis Bayard from Valais, who has been selected for the Olympic Games in Paris, lost in the quarterfinals to world number two Gergely Siklosi from Hungary. Siklosi then made it to the final, where he was defeated by Midelton.
Heinzer’s career over
After it became clear that Max Heinzer would not be able to take part in the Olympic Games in Paris and would have to give way to his compatriot Bayard, the Lucerne native announced his retirement at the home European Championships in Basel. And this career, which included a team gold medal at the World Championships (2018) and 3 European Championship titles with the team (2012-2014), ended quite early in Basel’s St. Jakobshalle. Heinzer has won individual European Championship medals 6 times: 4x bronze, 2x silver.
Heinzer started the European Championship with a 15:9 victory over the Austrian Alexander Biro, but one round later it was already over for the Swiss. The 36-year-old had to admit defeat to the Israeli Alon Sarid in the round of 32 with 13:15, despite leading 9:6 at one point. The career of one of Switzerland’s most successful épée fencers thus ended without a successful outcome.