Paris (AFP)

The French men's epee team, reigning world champion, qualified for the JO-2020 thanks to their second place on Saturday in Heidenheim (Germany), and will try to win a fourth consecutive Olympic title in a little more of six months in Tokyo.

Yannick Borel, Ronan Gustin, Alexandre Bardenet and Romain Cannone lost in the final against Hungary 45 touches 43.

Thanks to this second place, they are sure to finish in the world top 4 at the end of the qualification phase in April 2020, while there are two stages of the World Cup (Vancouver and Buenos Aires). This collective ticket validated for Tokyo also offers three places for the individual event in Japan.

Crowned at the Worlds in July 2019 in Budapest, French swordsmen took 2nd place at the World Cup in Paris in May 2019, and won in Bern (Switzerland) in November.

The French men's sword has been undefeated at the Olympic Team Games since 2004, winning titles in Athens, then in Beijing in 2008 and Rio in 2016, when the weapon was not on the team program in London in 2012.

French fencing recorded two other podiums on Saturday: foilists Ysaora Thibus and Enzo Lefort both took 3rd place in the World Cup, respectively in Katowice (Poland) and Paris.

© 2020 AFP