⚔️ AIN SABREURS SILENCE HOME CROWD TO SEIZE EUROPEAN CROWN

ANTONY, FRANCE — 19 JUNE 2026

The Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN) women's sabre squad put on a blistering display of offensive intensity on the fourth day of the 2026 European Fencing Championships, capturing the team continental title. Competing at the Éric Tabarly Sports Complex, World number five AIN engineered a tactical masterclass to defeat the top-seeded hosts France 45–39 in a high-octane gold medal bout.

The stellar golden run adds another prestigious crown to an extraordinarily successful seasonal campaign for the AIN squad, who had already collected major World Cup titles in Tashkent and Lima earlier in the year.

While France collected a hard-earned silver medal to go with their Salt Lake City and Athens golds, World number eight Italy fought through the bracket to claim their first podium of the international season with bronze.

Path to the Podium

Team AIN, who lined up with individual silver medallist Yana Egorian, sisters Alina and Aleksandra Mikhailova and Anastasiya Shorokhova, received an opening first-round bye before fighting past a tough Spanish squad 45–38 in the quarter-finals. They maintained their clinical composure in the semi-finals, navigating another tight 45–38 tactical battle against Hungary to book their place in the final.

The gold medal match against the host nation was an exhibition of early dominance. The AIN athletes completely controlled the opening three legs of the bout, establishing an authoritative 15–10 cushion. Egorian then took complete command of the strip across the middle three fights, leading her squad through a relentless 15–6 scoring surge that blew the match open to 30–16. Desperate to find a spark, the French coaching staff subbed in Manon Apithy for Toscane Tori, sparking a furious late revival anchored by a spectacular 11–5 eighth-leg run from Sarah Noutcha. Despite the home team's intense pressure, the AIN line-up protected their lead with comfort to seal the victory.

Team France, consisting of Manon Apithy, Sara Balzer, Sarah Noutcha and individual bronze medallist Toscane Tori, added a proud continental silver to a highly decorated season featuring golds in Salt Lake City and Athens, a silver in Lima and a bronze in Algiers. Following an initial bye, the top seeds cruised past Azerbaijan 45–27 to secure a semi-final showdown with Italy.

The French squad surged to an early 15–11 lead through the combined efforts of Balzer, Apithy and Noutcha. However, the Italians threw a tactical curveball in the middle legs as Michela Battiston came off the bench, producing a stunning 9–1 run against reigning Olympic Champion Apithy to shock the home favourites. Balzer immediately steadied the French ship, executing a clutch 9–4 run against Claudia Rotili to restore order and allow France to run out 45–38 winners.

Team Italy, fielding a balanced roster of Michela Battiston, Claudia Rotili, Manuela Spica, and Mariella Viale, celebrated a phenomenal seasonal milestone by capturing a fully deserved bronze medal. The Italians opened their long day with a comprehensive 45–21 rout of Romania, before demonstrating immense mental fortitude to edge out Poland 45–43 in an absolute quarter-final thriller.

Following their semi-final defeat to France, the Italian squad showed great resilience to defeat World number four Hungary 45–34 in the bronze medal match. The Hungarian line-up actually made the sharper start, jumping out to a 15–10 lead after the opening three legs. The entire complexion of the bout changed in the fourth leg when Spica turned the match upside down, producing a blistering 10–4 run against Liza Pusztai to hand Italy a 20–19 lead. The Italian team never looked back, systematically widening the gap across the remaining fights to ease onto the third step of the podium.

Team Hungary, represented by Sugár Battai, Anna Spiesz, Luca Szúcs and Liza Pusztai, suffered immense disappointment to miss out on the podium entirely. The World number four squad entered the tournament as strong medal candidates following a World Cup silver in Algiers and a bronze in Lima but they ultimately could not recover after Italy seized control of the tactical momentum in the play-off.

Full results are here.