France and Italy Shine Bright on Last Day of U23 Championships
The fourth and final day of the U23 European Championships brought excitement, tension, and moments of pure magic as the team events unfolded in all their intensity. France and Italy dominated the day, sharing gold medals between them, with Poland, Hungary, and Israel also stepping onto the podium.
Men's Sabre
In the men's sabre, the French team of Noe Berger, Remi Garrigue, Benjamin Ducerf, and Tom Couderc captured the title after a thrilling campaign. Their victory over Italy in the final was a true testament to their spirit, with Italy's Marco Mastrullo, Edoardo Cantini, Antonio Tallarico, and Cosimo Bertini giving their all to secure the silver. Poland, represented by Olaf Stasiak, Szymon Hryciuk, Benedykt Denkiewicz, and Marcel Broniszewski, fought hard to claim bronze.
"French team is on fire? Yeah, of course. Formidable," the French fencers celebrated with bright smiles, proudly mentioning, "Four gold medals — individual girl and boy, plus both teams. Carton blanc. Carton blanc, French. Carton blanc!"
Among the many impressive moments, a remarkable comeback in the quarterfinals against Hungary stood out. "It was a very, very hard match. The start was difficult. Usually the competition is like this — one time you go up, another time someone else does. But with the team, you move forward together," one of the fencers shared.
The French team's motto sums it all up: "Four guys, four friends. Good alchemy. Atmosphere. We give it 100% — no, 200%! And we want to win."
Their secret to strength was no mystery: "The training. The coach. In INSEP, we have a very good group and a very good coach, Boladé Apithy. The atmosphere is great."
Coach Boladé Apithy himself was filled with emotion: "I am really happy with this performance, with this competition, with this victory today." To which the fencers enthusiastically added, "And tonight — we will do the festa!" prompting a laughing "Nononono!" from their coach.
Men's Foil
In men's foil, the Italian squad of Giulio Lombardi, Tommaso Martini, Damiano Di Veroli, and Mattia De Cristofaro climbed to the top of the podium, delivering a spectacular performance against France's Antoine Spichiger, Adrien Spichiger, Anas Anane, and Eliot Chagnon. The bronze medal went to the Hungarian team, composed of Andor Istvan Mihalyi, Gergely Toth, Gergo Szemes, and Albert Bagdany.
"We are very happy because we wanted to win this competition. We knew that we were the best, so we made it," said the Italian fencers with clear determination.
Their spirit throughout the day was built on confidence: "We knew that we were the best, so we just had to focus on fencing the way we know."
When asked about each other's strengths, they answered with affection: "The strength of Tommaso is the accuracy. For Mattia, it's his physique. For Damiano, it's the power – the power of Damiano is unbelievable. And for Giulio, it's obviously the speed."
As for their celebration plans? With a smile, Damiano said, "I don't know if we can say it."
Women's Épée
Italy continued their triumph in the women's épée, as Carola Maccagno, Gaia Caforio, Lucrezia Paulis, and Vera Perini secured the gold medal, defeating Hungary's Lili Buki, Reka Salamon, Dorina Wimmer, and Greta Gachalyi. Israel, represented by Viki Ossipov, Yuval Yizhaki, Mihal Shukurov, and Tamara Lando, clinched the bronze.
When asked if they had a special name for their team, the Italian women proudly declared: "LE BEDDI."
Victory was hard-earned. "No, no, no. Never easy," they said unanimously, underlining the importance of respecting every opponent.
Reflecting on what made them strong, Gaia Caforio said, "We all never give up. Even in difficult moments, we never give up."
Lucrezia Paulis added, "We stay focused in every touch, in every move, and that made the biggest difference."
Carola Maccagno shared: "I wasn’t 100% ready physically, but my teammates helped me in so many ways. I'm happy."
Vera Perini concluded: "Even today, I feel I was a good support for the girls, always ready to enter the competition whenever needed."
Looking Ahead
The U23 European Championships concluded on a high note, with emotions running high and dreams fulfilled. But the journey of European fencing continues. Before the senior European Championships welcome us all in Tallinn next year, another important milestone awaits: the European Championships 2025 in Genova. The stage is set, and the future of European fencing looks brighter than ever.
