On the second day of the European Cadet Championships in Tallinn, Ukraine’s Emili Conrad claimed the title of Women’s Epee, the first for Ukraine.
Seeded 9th in a field of 99 fencers, Emiliexited the pools with 5 wins and one loss, resulting in a 9th rank in the direct elimination. She had a BYE for the round of 128, and then comfortably beat Anna Platkova (LAT) 15-2, a narrow win over Helena Linares Urbina (ESP) 15-14 and another 15-14 win over Michal Cohen (ISR) to advance to the quarter finals. There she beat the 1st-ranked Greta Gachalyi (HUN) 15-8 to secure a spot in the semi-final, where she defeated Cagla Aytekin (GER) 15-4 to reach the grand final.
Emili’s opponent in the grand final was Sofija Prosina (LAT) ranked 2nd in the competition. In the tableau of 16 Prosina won 15-14 over Alexandra Dragan (ROU) and followed up with two additional wins, 15-10 over Magda Ratyna (POL) and 15-12 over Anna Maksymenko (UKR).
In the final, Conrad showed no signs of slowing down. Fencing comfortably at the end of her side of the piste, Conrad had a 5-1 lead heading into the first break. Neither fencer changed strategy following the break and Prosina kept pressing Conrad down her end of the piste.The confidence of Conrad did not waiver and by the end of the second period she extended the lead to six points, 9-3. In the third period Conrad kept her cool and took the bout over the finish line with an impressive score of 15-6 to claim her first individual European title, adding to her individual bronze medal from Novi Sad 2022.
Women's Epee Press Release
