The title of men’s foil Cadet European Champion went to Hungary’s Mattia Rubin, providing his country with a second gold medal.
European Championships debutant Rubin got a flying start to the day. Entering the day ranked as the 5th seed, Rubin presented a clean sheet in the pools, landing him a 2nd seed entering the direct elimination and a BYE in the round of 64. In the round of 32, Rubin beat Maxime Dubreuil (FRA) 15-12, followed by a solid 15-2 win over Maksims Bogdans (LAT) in the round of 16 and 15-9 over Idzi Duraj (POL) in the quarterfinals to secure a spot in the medal bouts. In the semi-final Rubin stood against 3rd seed Andrii Cherkashyn (UKR) and won the match 15-11 to take the first spot in the grand final.
His opponent, Israel’s Eitan Lemberger, had a tougher start to the day. Having 3 wins and 3 losses in his pool, Lemberger was awarded a 32nd seed into the direct elimination. Lemberger showed that seeds are not always important as he beat Gergely Orovecz (HUN) 15-14 in the round of 64, followed by a big win over 1st-ranked Henrik Barby (GER) 15-9. Lemberger then went on to beat Michael Dijkstra (NED) 15-9, Fernando Scarola (ITA) 15-12 and Mattia De Cristofaro (ITA) 15-8 to book his ticket to the final.
The two finalists showed little restraint on the piste and within the first 3 minutes managed to score a total of 18 hits, resulting in a 10-8 lead for Rubin heading into the break. Rejuvenized from the break, Lemberger came out strong with 4 unanswered hits to retake the lead 12-10. Rubin then proceeded to switch up a gear and by scoring an impressive 5 unanswered hits took his first individual European title, Hungary’s second gold in this championship.
Men's Foil Press Release
