Ukraine’s Olga Sopit secures the first gold medal of the European U23 Championships!

Olga Sopit from Ukraine battled through a field of 50 fencers to win the first gold medal of the championships in Budapest.

Sopit, ranked 37th in the world junior ranking, put up an impressive performance to secure her first ever medal in the U23 championships, and the first for Ukraine of this year. She began the day with 4/5 wins in the pool to claim the 10th seed entering the direct elimination. To reach the semi-finals, the Ukranian defeated Amelie Tsang (GBR) 15-11, junior world no. 2 Lior Druck (ISR) 15-11, and in the quarterfinal, her teammate Alina Poloziuk (UKR) 15-11. In the semi-final, Sopit defeated Anna Cristino (ITA) 15-12 to reach her first U23 final.

Her opponent in the final, Italian fencer Vittoria Ciampalini, exited the pool with 3/5 wins and a 20th seed in the elimination. On the way to the semi-final Ciampalini eliminated Maria Cojocari (MDA) 15-7, Gaia Cantucci (SVK) 15-4, and teammate Lucrezia Cantarini (ITA) 15-11. Her opponent in the semi-final was reigning champion Eva Lacheray (FRA), who Ciampalini beat 15-13 to advance to the gold medal match.

In the final, Sopit had the upper hand and took a comfortable win 15-10 to claim the first gold of the championships.