Competition

Italy dominates on Day 3

26 February 2025

A remarkable day for Italy in Cadet Team events

The third day of competition belonged to Italy, as its young fencers claimed gold across all three Cadet Team events—Men's Épée, Women's Foil, and Women's Sabre. While the Women’s Sabre team secured victory with relative ease, the finals in Men's Épée and Women's Foil were thrilling, with both matches going down to the wire and being decided on priority. The Italian teams had to fight their way back from deficits in the final bouts, showcasing exceptional resilience and determination to clinch victory in the dying moments.

Cadet Team Men's Épée

In one of the most dramatic finals of the day, Italy’s Riccardo Magni, Francesco Delfino, Davide Del Prete, and Nicolo Sonnessa pulled off a stunning comeback against Hungary. Trailing throughout the final, the Italian épéeists refused to back down, and in a heart-stopping final exchange, they secured gold on priority. The Hungarian team of Aron Petrovszki, Benjamin Makai, Lenard Koch, and Donat Kiss fought fiercely but had to settle for silver. Belgium’s squad, featuring Alexander De Winter, Wout Van Laecke, Matthys Hercot, and Achille Grandjean, took home bronze after a strong overall performance.

Interview with the winning team:

"Today is a wonderful and beautiful day. It is one of the best days of our lives—not just for us, but for the entire Italian team. We are very happy, and this achievement will surely strengthen our friendship. The most difficult bout was against Hungary. We were losing by a lot, but we made it. How did we overcome it? There were just six seconds left, and we had to hurry up! We are very happy for this victory, which we have been working toward all season."

Cadet Team Women's Foil

A similar scenario played out in the Women’s Foil final, where Italy’s Alessandra Tavola, Giorgia Ruta, Sofia Mancini, and Maria Elisa Fattori found themselves behind for most of the match against Poland. However, in a tense final bout, they managed to turn the tables and snatch victory on priority, sending the Italian crowd into celebration. Poland’s team, consisting of Karolina Makowska, Zofia Mikulicka, Danuta Tym, and Michalina Bartol, put up a tremendous fight but finished with silver. Hungary, with Szilvia Mahovszkij, Boglarka Markus, Borbala Simon, and Xinyao Zhou, secured the bronze, continuing their nation’s strong run in team events.

Interview with the winning team:

"Today was a beautiful experience, we are so happy, we had fun, and we did great work. The hardest match was the final with Poland—we were losing every bout, but then Sofia did a great job, and Alessandra and Giorgia led us to victory. It was tough, but we did it! Our key strengths were our friendship, and we fought for every single touch. Our dream of becoming European champions came true!"

Cadet Team Women's Sabre

Unlike the nail-biting finishes in the other events, the Italian Women’s Sabre team delivered a commanding performance to claim gold. Francesca Romana Lentini, Vittoria Mocci, Vittoria Fusetti, and Anna Torre dominated their opponents, proving their superiority throughout the competition. Hungary, led by Szonja Felföldi, Brigitta Rácz, Adel Kovács, and Boglarka Komjathy, put up a spirited effort but settled for silver. Turkey’s team, featuring Irem Guner, Ece Ozturk, Duru Ayse Ozgonul, and Irmak Senoglu, earned bronze after a strong showing.

Interview with the winning team:

"It was a very beautiful day. The hardest match was the first one against Greece—we were very nervous, but today we were very close to each other, and we achieved this first place thanks to that and the fact that we are strong. Our key strength is that we are very close to each other even outside the piste."

Updated Medal Table

The triumphs of the Italian fencers significantly impacted the medal standings, further solidifying Italy’s lead. Here is the latest medal count:

	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Italy	4	3	4	11
2	Hungary	2	2	3	7
3	Turkey	2	0	2	4
4	Ukraine	1	0	1	2
5	Poland	0	2	0	2
6	Romania	0	1	1	2
7	Bulgaria	0	1	0	1
8	France	0	0	2	2
9	Belgium	0	0	1	1
10	Cyprus	0	0	1	1
11	Germany	0	0	1	1