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Cannone and Thibus on top of the world

In the space of a few minutes, the swordsman and the foil fencer won the world title for France on Tuesday in Cairo.

Two titles in twenty minutes: the Blues had a golden day on Tuesday at the World Fencing Championships in Cairo with the titles of Romain Cannone in epee and Ysaora Thibus in foil. A year after conquering gold to everyone’s surprise at the Tokyo Olympics, Cannone went to seek the world title thanks to his victory against the Japanese Kazuyasu Minobe in the final, fifteen touches to twelve. After sharing his joy with the other swordsmen of the French delegation, the French climbed to the top of the podium, adorning himself with the gold medal and the Egyptian nemes, the emblematic headdress of the pharaohs.

At 25, the world number one in his discipline confirms his domination of international epee. Two years from the Paris Olympics, he also proves that his unexpected title of Tokyo was not the result of a providential alignment of planets, but the sign of a rise in power. “I digested my change of status, he confided last month. I don’t enter the competition thinking that I am an Olympic champion and that, suddenly, I deserve to win. Anyone can beat anyone, especially in swordsmanship. You have to keep that in mind.»

He who had never touched a World Cup podium with a sword, has collected three since his coronation in Japan. His only misstep came at the European Championships in Antalya last month, where he was eliminated in the first round. In Cairo, he took his revenge on his Euro scorer, the Belgian Neisser Loyola, by dismissing him to sudden death (15-14) in the semi-finals, the match where the Frenchman was the most fear.

Thibus on rebound

Moments earlier, Ysaora Thibus had set an example in the foil final. Bronze medalist in 2017 and silver in 2018, Thibus this time took the extra step to finally win gold on the world stage. After a fright in the ankle in the quarter-finals, the 30-year-old foil fencer overpowered the world No.4, the Italian Arianna Errigo, fifteen touches to ten in the final. The Guadeloupean is thus bouncing back brilliantly after her disappointment last summer at the Tokyo Olympics, when she was released in the second round of the individual tournament. Even the team silver medal did not alleviate his distress.

Psychologically affected, she had taken four months to resume training. “I really didn’t want to hear about fencing anymore. I was psychologically exhausted after these Games, she told AFP last month. I made the decision to put things in place to continue until the Paris Olympics and I found the desire to train again, the pleasure in training. Not all the time (laughs), but generally yes.Ysaora Thibus is the first French foil fencer to be crowned world champion since Marie-Chantal Demaille’s title in 1971.

The two winners of the day bring France its first two titles in these Worlds. The Blues have three medals in total after Maxime Pianfetti’s silver in saber on Monday. They hope to continue in this good momentum on Wednesday during the finals of women’s saber and men’s foil.

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