2024-07-29 20:00:27
At the end of a perfect day ended by a Franco-French duel, sabreuse Maon Apithy-Brunet defeated her compatriot Sara Balzer (15-12) to give herself the first Olympic title and the first historical competition for France in the discipline at the Olympics Games, this July 29 in a completely electrified Grand Palais. Both French women added an additional gold and silver medal to the French team’s tally and will be looking to win the Olympic team title in the coming days.
Published on: 07/29/2024 – 22:00Modified on: 07/29/2024 – 11:05 pm
3 min
From our special correspondent at the Grand Palais,
The mission has already been a great success for French sabers, with a 100% tricolor finish won by Manon Apithy-Brunet and Sara Balzer at the end of a day of perfectly negotiating through two walls. But as it is necessary to decide between the medals, Manon Apithy-Brunet is the one who emerged the winner from her duel with her compatriot Sara Balzer (15-12) in the saber final.
On this Monday under the glass roof of the Grand Palais transformed by the enthusiasm of the French public, nothing seemed to be able to stop Balzer from his goal. He made short work of Turkish Nisanur Erbil (15-5) in the round of 16, as well as Ukrainian Olga Kharlan, now a five-time Olympic medalist, in the semi-finals (15-7). His only fear of the day was in the regions, against the amazing Hungarian Luca Virag Szucs (15-12).
So it took another French woman to seal her way to the Olympic competition, certainly one of the athletes of the day who knew what was best and knew how to take advantage of it. Balzer – world number one, reigning in the World Cup all-time and a big favorite in the event – entered for the first time in the individual saber at the Games. But Manon Apithy-Brunet, a former bronze medalist in saber in Tokyo, is competing in her third edition of the Olympics and shares her experience of special events.
Team event in sight
Their clash, in front of an enthusiastic audience, quickly turned in favor of Apithy-Brunet who took advantage of his teammate’s poor start to widen the gap in the entry score. With his back to the wall, his back turned to his opponent at the appointed time and face, Balzer then raised (8-10), without success in making a loaded stop (12-15).
In front of a crowd that does not know who he supports as important, and despite the sadness, then he quickly went to find a tricolor flag and then hugged his teammate on the track, before being celebrated by the staff of the French team and closed the history of the day for the French saber fighters, who finally have an Olympic champion in their ranks.
After this first Olympic competition, both French women will seek to improve further at these Paris Games by winning a new gold medal, unprecedented during the team event, scheduled for August 3.
Sadness for Lefort and Pauty among men
In the men’s foil competition, Enzo Lefort and Maxime Pauty got off to a good start but both hit the wall in the quarter-finals this afternoon. A two-time world champion in 2019 and 2022, Lefort is seeking his first individual Olympic medal in 32 years, after winning team gold in Tokyo. He lost to Hong Kong’s Cheung Ka Long (15-14), the reigning Olympic champion, after a duel which maintained suspense until the end.
His teammate Maxime Pauty, who fought at the same time on the nearby track, was very close to making a stunning comeback against the Japanese Kazui Iimura, after that he had already succeeded in the round of 16 against the Italian world number 1 Tommaso Marini . But this time he failed at the wire (14-15) in front of a French crowd that never stopped cheering him on.
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