Paris (AFP)
France's Manon Brunet won the Saber World Cup stage in Orleans, defeating Russian Olga Nikitina 15-12, while Alexandre Bardenet and Ysaora Thibus also finished on the podium on Saturday.
For her fifth win, the second at the Zenith of Orleans, Brunet beat in the semi-finals the world N.1 and four-time world champion, the Ukrainian Olga Kharlan (15-14), before getting rid of Nikitina in a final mastered.
"I could not imagine coming back and winning a second time, I missed the Zenith, I was exhausted on the final, but the coach helped me find the solutions, which allowed me to win : to be exhausted, "commented the 23-year-old saber, unfortunate 4th of the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Vice-champion of Europe in Düsseldorf in June 2019, she will be back on the Orléans track Sunday for the team event, important in the quest for points for the collective Olympic qualification, which offers three places for the event in Tokyo in the summer of 2020 (July 24-August 9).
In Berne (Switzerland), Alexandre Bardenet took 3rd place in the World Cup stage of the sword, beaten in the semifinal by the Ukrainian Igor Reizlin (15-10).
In Cairo, Ysaora Thibus had a good performance by eliminating the world N.1, the Russian world champion and world champion, Russian Inna Deriglazova, in the quarter-finals, before giving in half against the Italian Arianna Errigo.
Swordsmen and Foilists will also be engaged Sunday by teams in search of points to see Japan.
© 2019 AFP