🇪🇬 FIVE-IN-A-ROW: MOHAMED ELSAYED EXTENDS CONTINENTAL REIGN IN ABIDJAN

ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST — 1 JUNE 2026

Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist Mohamed Elsayed (EGY) kicked off the continental championship season with an absolute masterclass, defending his men’s epee crown at the 24th African Fencing Championships. On the opening day of competition in Abidjan, the Egyptian world number 3 showcased his typical technical supremacy to capture a staggering fifth consecutive individual African title, defeating Morocco's Houssam Elkord 15–10 in a highly anticipated final.

The victory keeps Elsayed completely undefeated on African soil for half a decade, capitalizing on his spectacular regular-season form where he previously claimed World Cup titles in Vancouver and Berne.

Elkord (MAR), a three-time former African Champion himself, took home the silver medal to cement his status as one of the continent's elite epeeists. The bronze medals were shared by Egypt's rising star Mahmoud Elsayed and South Africa's veteran Pavel Tychler.

Path to the Podium

Mohamed Elsayed (World number 3) set the tone early in the poules, winning all of his ranking round matches to lock down the number 1 overall seed for the direct elimination bracket. He translated that momentum into dominant, single-digit knockout scores, cruising past Kenya's Isaac Ochieng 15–2 and host-nation favorite Jeremy Beugre 15–8. His only real test came in a physical quarter-final battle against another Ivorian, Arthur Roussel, where Elsayed leaned on his defensive counter-timing to edge out a narrow 15–14 victory. In the final four, he restored complete control by dismantling Tychler 15–4 before shutting down Elkord in the final.

Houssam Elkord (World number 42) illustrated exceptional grit after finding himself in a lower side of the draw, following a 4–1 performance in the poules that placed him as the 10th seed. Elkord systematically picked apart Libya's Ibrahim Bin Iswayd and Senegal's Bourama Sagnan before rolling past Egypt's Ahmed Shamel 15–8 in the quarter-finals. His semi-final clash with Mahmoud Elsayed was a point-for-point epic; trailing late, Elkord executed a beautiful fleche attack to secure a thrilling 15–14 triumph.

Mahmoud Elsayed (World number 23) earned his second consecutive individual African Championship bronze medal with an exceptional tactical run. After securing the 6th seed from the poules, he navigated a dangerous domestic minefield in the round of 16, knocking out world number 34 and reigning African silver medallist Mohamed Mohsen 12–9. He followed that up by blowing past Algeria's Evann Mohammedi 15–2 in the quarter-finals to secure his spot on the podium before falling just one touch short of the final against Elkord.

Pavel Tychler (World number 1061) manufactured the definitive underdog story of day 1, capturing his third career African Championship bronze medal. Coming out of a tough poule as the 13th seed, the South African veteran squeezed through a razor-thin 15–8 round of 16 derby against teammate Harry Saner before displaying elite composure to edge Cape Verde's Alexandre Alvares de Oliveira 15–14 in the quarter-finals. His dream run was ultimately brought to an end by the top-seeded Olympic medallist in the semi-finals.

Full results link here.