🇪🇪 LEHIS MOUNTS DRAMATIC FIGHTBACK TO CAPTURE BUDAPEST GRAND PRIX TITLE
Updated: Aug 5
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY — 19 APRIL 2026
World number 3 Katrina Lehis (EST) displayed astonishing mental fortitude to capture the gold medal at the Budapest Women’s Épée Grand Prix, the second of the season. Estonia’s historic Olympic medallist secured back-to-back international podiums—following her silver at the Astana World Cup three weeks ago—by orchestrating a series of stunning come-from-behind victories, culminating in a dramatic 12–11 golden-goal triumph over home favorite Eszter Muhari in the final.
Muhari (HUN), the Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist, took home the silver medal after a superb run in front of a passionate home crowd. The bronze medals were claimed by France's returning Olympic star Aurianne Mallo-Breton and Latvia's teenage sensation Sofija Prosina.
Path to the Podium
Katrina Lehis (World number 3) had to dig incredibly deep from her very first bout of the day, narrowly surviving a tense 14–13 opening-round clash against Hungary’s Tamara Gnam. After finding her rhythm to eliminate Switzerland's Angeline Favre 15–12 in the quarter-finals, the reigning World silver medallist faced a monumental challenge in the semi-finals against Mallo-Breton. Lehis clawed her way back from a late deficit to edge out a 15–13 win, before repeating her fighting antics in the final to shock Muhari on the last touch.
Eszter Muhari (World number 7) enjoyed a spectacular drive to the final, opening her day with a nerve-shredding 15–14 victory over Poland's Julia Janelli. She looked clinical in the later rounds, systematically defeating defending champion Anna Maksymenko (UKR) 15–12 in the round of 16 and out-fencing Kinga Nagy 15–12 in an all-Hungarian quarter-final. Muhari then survived a razor-thin 12–11 semi-final against Latvia's Prosina before falling just short of gold in the final seconds against Lehis.
Aurianne Mallo-Breton (Unranked) made a sensational, blockbuster return to the international strip. In her very first competitive outing since capturing individual and team silver medals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the French star proved she had lost none of her world-class edge. She launched her campaign by upsetting world number 10 Catherine Nixon (USA) 15–11, before coming through a dramatic 15–14 domestic quarter-final shootout against Astana World Cup bronze medallist Diane Von Kerssenbrock to seal a fairytale return to the podium.
Sofija Prosina (World number 86) completed a remarkable month of fencing by securing her maiden senior international podium. Flying directly to Budapest from Rio de Janeiro, where she had just captured an historic first-ever Junior World title for Latvia, the teenager carried her red-hot form onto the senior circuit. Prosina executed a magnificent giant-killing run, kicking off with a 15–11 opening-round victory over world number 13 Sara Maria Kowalczyk (ITA) and rolling past China's Li to comfortably guarantee her bronze.
