Ukraine’s fencers win first Olympic gold in Paris in women’s sabre team event

PARIS – Ukraine claimed the gold medal in the women’s sabre team event as they rallied to edge out South Korea 45-42 in a thrilling final bout on Aug 3.

Olga Kharlan, who won individual bronze and Ukraine’s first medal, put on a brilliant performance to lead her team to a comeback win for the country’s first gold in Paris.

Backed once again by an ecstatic Grand Palais crowd, Kharlan scored 22 touches in total to earn her sixth Olympic medal and become Ukraine’s most successful Olympic athlete.

“My strategy was to put my emotions aside, these are the Olympic Games,” Kharlan said.

“I couldn’t believe the support I got here, they were chanting my name. Thank you Paris, you nailed it. This is an amazing venue.”

The win is also the second gold in the event for Ukraine after they won the title in 2008, while they have matched the two golds won by Russia at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

Kharlan, 33, attended the Paris Games via an International Olympic Committee (IOC) invitation after being disqualified for refusing to shake hands with a Russian opponent at the 2023 world championships in Milan, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“One year ago, I was almost done with fencing. This story has had a very good ending,” she said.

Following the stunning triumph, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the Ukrainian team.

“I thank them for the result, for the spirit, for showing that Ukrainians win!” he wrote on his X account.

“Ukraine knows how to inspire both at the Olympic Games and times like these!”

Despite the defeat, South Korea’s world No. 10 Choi Se-bin, who lost to Kharlan in the individual bronze medal bout, said she was happy after her first Olympic medal.

“It is a great honour to win South Korea’s first silver in women’s sabre. I enjoy the bouts,” said the first-time Olympian.

Japan also won their first medal in the event, upsetting top-ranked France 45-40 in the bronze medal match, with the hosts missing out on the podium despite having individual event champion Manon Apithy-Brunet and runner-up Sara Balzer.

In the men’s epee team event, Hungary did just enough to dethrone Tokyo champions Japan and snatch gold.

Gergely Siklosi, scoring first, gave his team a lead that they kept for most of the bout before eventually winning 26-25.

Japan’s Koki Kano, gold medallist in the individual event, was unable to stop a fiery Siklosi, who scored the last touch in a nerve-racking sudden-death bout.

“I was preparing for that against the Japanese,” Siklosi said.

“I gave it all and we were absolutely ready.”

It was Hungary’s fourth title in the event, which they had not won since the Munich Games in 1972. After a bronze in Rio in 2016, the gold medal was proof that Hungarians are back on top.

World No. 1 France went on to lose 43-41 to the Czech Republic, who claimed the bronze. REUTERS