U23 WOMEN’S EPEE REPORT
Israel’s Dar Hecht stepped up from multiple Junior World Cup medalist to claim the Women’s Epee European crown on day two of the U23 European Championships in Tallinn.
In a field of 67, the biggest of the Championships so far, Hecht won all six of her poule matches and ranked first for the elimination phase. She also earned a bye in the round of 64 before beating teammate Galper 15-3, Goldmann (GER) 15-10 and Mbiim (FRA) 15-13 to make the top four. Her close battles continued into the semi-final but she prevailed 15-14 over Alessandra Bozza (ITA) to make the final.
Hungarian Reka Galfalvy took on Ukraine’s Anastasiya Samko in the other semi-final and edged another tight fight 15-14, for her place in the gold medal match.
In the final, after the customary settling in period a double was scored. Hecht decided that was the time to take some risks and attacked her way to 4-1. A stunned Galfalvy sensibly opened the distance to give herself time to think but Hecht sensed the opportunity. In a display of relentlessness, Hecht took a remarkable 15-8 victory and the European title with 15 seconds still remaining in the first period.
