🇪🇪 KATRINA LEHIS DOMINATES IN ANTONY TO CAPTURE MAIDEN EUROPEAN EPEE TITLE

ANTONY, FRANCE — 18 JUNE 2026

Estonia’s World number one Katrina Lehis authored a resounding masterpiece of tactical precision at the Éric Tabarly Sports Complex, capturing her first senior individual continental title on the final day of individual action at the 2026 European Fencing Championships. The reigning European and World silver medallist dominated a star-studded women's individual epee field in France, capping off an emphatic day with a commanding 15–11 victory over Germany’s breakthrough veteran Alexandra Ehler in the gold medal final.

The monumental victory marks the absolute peak of a sensational international campaign for Lehis, who adds the European title to her Budapest Grand Prix gold, Astana World Cup silver, and Medellín World Cup bronze. Her peerless form firmly establishes her as the red-hot favourite for the upcoming World Championships in Hong Kong next month.

While Ehler secured a brilliant silver medal, Poland's rising star Alicja Klasik and Hungary's Olympic icon Eszter Muhari stood proud as the bronze medallists.

Path to the Podium

Katrina Lehis (World number one) survived a monumental scare in her opening bout, showing immense mental fortitude to edge out Romania's Paula Sont 9–8 in a nervy priority minute. Once past that initial hurdle, the Estonian phenom flipped into peak competitive form, systematically turning away Sweden's Elvira Martensson 15–12 and commanding the strip against Hungary's world number 28 Blanka Nagy. Lehis delivered an absolute clinic in the quarter-finals by dismantling Italy’s World number eighth-ranked Giulia Rizzi 15–7, before pacing past Muhari 15–10 in the semi-finals and out-pointing Ehler for gold.

Alexandra Ehler (World number 35) celebrated the finest achievement of her recent career by navigating a minefield of a bracket to capture a masterful silver medal, marking her first senior international major individual podium since 2021. Ehler opened her account by defeating Alexandra Predescu 15–10, before engineering a stunning 9–8 upset over France's World number five Marie-Florence Candassamy. After stopping Hungary's Emma Borsody 15–11, the German displayed ice-cold composure to clip Ukraine's World number 15 Anna Maksymenko 10–9 in a high-stakes priority minute, booking her final berth with an 11–9 semi-final victory over Klasik.

Alicja Klasik (World number 33) manufactured a spectacular milestone for Polish fencing, capturing her first individual senior international medal with a brilliant run to bronze. Klasik set up her podium performance in the morning session, topping the overall tournament rankings after a flawless poule stage. In direct elimination, she routinely dispatched Swiss competitors Angela Krieger 15–7 and Aurora Favre 15–10. Klasik locked down her medal by executing a superb 10–7 tactical victory over Latvia’s world number 30 Sofija Prosina, the reigning Junior European and World Champion, before routing Spain's Daniela Pinyol Tomas 15–8 in the quarter-finals.

Eszter Muhari (World number four) reestablished her elite global credentials by capturing a hard-fought bronze medal to complement her Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medal. The Hungarian standout navigated an incredibly dense path, beating Spain's Dana Raposo 15–8 and Germany's Gala Hess Sancho 11–6. Muhari showed exceptional clutch execution in the last 16 to edge out France's world number 24 Diane Von Kerssenbrock 15–14, before sealing her podium spot with a confident 15–12 quarter-final triumph over France's World number six Alexandra Louis Marie. The bronze caps an extraordinarily consistent season that includes Doha Grand Prix gold, silver medals in Medellín and Budapest, and a Vancouver World Cup bronze.

Full results are here.