🇫🇷 FRENCH FORCE FLIES TO CAIRO GOLD TO SEAL THIRD SEASON SABRE TITLE
Updated: Aug 6
CAIRO, EGYPT — 24 MAY 2026
World number 1 France punctuated a phenomenally dominant regular season by capturing the gold medal at the Cairo Men’s Sabre Team World Cup. The top-seeded French quartet—comprising Patrick Garrigue, Jean-Philippe Patrice, Sébastien Patrice, and Benjamin Ducerf—delivered a masterclass in aggressive, tactical execution on the final stop of the regular circuit, defeating traditional powerhouse Hungary 45–37 in an elite gold medal showdown.
The victory secures a spectacular golden hat-trick for France’s 2025–26 campaign, adding the Cairo title to their previous golden runs at the Algiers and Budapest World Cups.
Hungary took home the silver medal following a fierce day of competition, while Korea rounded out the podium with the bronze, leaving the United States in fourth place.
Path to the Podium
France (World number 1) illustrated exactly why they hold the top ranking, combining high-octane offensive bursts with composed veteran closing. After moving past Spain and surviving a tight 45–40 quarter-final test against a resilient neutral squad (AIN), France faced the United States in the semi-finals. The difference-maker came early via Sébastien Patrice, who unleashed a staggering 9–1 blitz in the second leg against William Morrill to establish an eight-touch cushion that the French comfortably preserved into a 45–37 victory.
In the final, despite trailing 15–12 early after Hungary's András Szatmári orchestrated a sharp 8–2 leg, the French collective systematically chipped away. The Patrice brothers and Garrigue locked down the middle tiers to engineer a pivotal 30–28 turnaround, coasting through the final third to secure the championship.
Hungary (World number 2) put together an incredibly gutsy campaign to lock down the silver medal, building on their bronze performance from the Padua World Cup. The veteran lineup—featuring Benedek Dallos, Krisztián Rabb, András Szatmári, and legendary triple Olympic Champion Áron Szilágyi—navigated a high-wire semi-final against South Korea. Commanding a comfortable 30–20 cushion after six legs, the Hungarians survived a furious late-match fightback from Korea's Park Sangwon before Szilágyi anchored them over the line in a thrilling 45–43 finish.
Korea (World number 3) bounced back from their agonizing semi-final defeat to capture the bronze medal with immense poise. The star-studded lineup of Do Gyeongdong, Park Sangwon, individual Cairo champion Oh Sanguk, and Lim Jaeyoon engaged in a dense, point-for-point bronze play-off against the United States. With the match deadlocked late, Park stepped onto the strip for the eighth leg to carve out a vital 40–36 lead, allowing individual king Oh Sanguk to calmly close out a 45–43 victory.
The United States (World number 6) had to settle for a frustrating fourth-place finish, replicating their result from the Budapest World Cup earlier in the season. The unit of Antonio Heathcock, Colin Heathcock, Darii Lukashenko, and William Morrill proved their elite pedigree in the quarter-finals by engineering a brilliant 45–43 upset over world number 4 Italy, though their momentum was checked in the subsequent medal matches.
