TOKYO – Russian female fencing player won two consecutive Olympic gold medals at the Team Saver event, beating France 45-41 in a tense final.
France refused to give a simple victory to the Russian Olympic Commission (ROC), and the two teams chased each other while swiping and jabing across the slopes, which could quickly close the gap.
In the last match, France’s Cecilia Berder scored three points in a row, leaving ROC one point away from the win. However, it was Russia’s Olga Nikitina who scored the final point, rushing to the slopes with her teammates, stacking on top of her and yelling with joy. The top-ranked ROC team includes individual silver medalists, four-time Olympic athlete Sophia Belikaya, and gold medalist Sophia Pozudoniakova.
“They are future stars and the future of fencing,” Belikaya said of her more junior teammate with a gold medal hanging from her neck according to Reuters.
She has the spirit and faith that a new generation of swordfighters has never seen before, and that they do “what they want, for the team, and for victory.” He added that he made it possible.
France lost the gold medal, but the silver medal is the first women’s saber team event in French fencing history.
“It’s just magic,” said Charlotte Lembach of France about the groundbreaking medal. “They won the match … but next time we’ll be,” she added, turning to Paris 2024.
South Korea finished third in the bronze medal match against Italy.
Russian athletes are competing under the ROC flag at the Tokyo Olympics as part of sanctions against several doping scandals.
Tokyo 2020 is the third time that the Women’s Saber Fencing Tournament will be held at the Olympic Games.
The first gold medal of the event was presented to Ukraine in 2008 and the second to Russia in Rio 2016. Ukraine failed to qualify for Tokyo 2020.
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