đź‡đź‡ş NAGY NAILS BUDAPEST GRAND PRIX GOLD TO CROWN STELLAR EPEE RUN
Updated: Aug 5
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY — 19 APRIL 2026
Hungary’s Dávid Nagy hit peak form on home territory, capturing the gold medal at the Westend Men’s Epee Grand Prix in Budapest. The World number 27 backed up his bronze medal from the Astana World Cup three weeks ago by upgrading to gold in front of a passionate home crowd. The magnificent victory marks Nagy's second career Grand Prix podium appearance, having previously claimed a silver medal at this exact event in 2022. In a tense, tactical final, Nagy defeated Kazakhstan’s Yerlik Sertay 15–12.
Sertay (KAZ), the World number 36 and 2024 Asian Championship bronze medallist, took home a well-deserved silver medal, marking his maiden individual podium on the regular senior international circuit. The bronze medals were shared by Switzerland’s Ian Hauri and the in-form Dutchman Tristan Tulen.
Path to the Podium
Dávid Nagy (World number 27) built his gold-medal drive on exceptional clock management and tactical poise under pressure. After safely accounting for the USA's Eli Imrek, Nagy faced an immediate test in the round of 32 against Italy's World number 5 Matteo Galassi, engineering a stellar 15–12 win over the reigning European silver medallist. Following a nail-biting 12–11 triumph over Austria's Biro in the round of 16, Nagy produced a brilliant 15–13 quarter-final upset over Japan's Olympic legend Kano Koki. He then edged past Tulen 11–10 in a nerve-shredding semi-final before sealing the title against Sertay.
Yerlik Sertay (World number 36) tore the upper half of the bracket to pieces with an exceptional giant-killing run. After navigating a tense 13–12 battle against Hungary's Buta, the Kazakh star caused the shock of the morning in the round of 16 by eliminating World number 2 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallist Gergely Siklósi 15–12 on his own home strip. Sertay carried that immense confidence into the later rounds, comprehensively beating Czech veteran Jakub Jurka 15–9 in the quarter-finals and out-pointing Hauri 15–12 in the semi-finals.
Ian Hauri (World number 15) recaptured his finest fencing form on the Budapest pistes, echoing his spectacular silver-medal performance at this exact Grand Prix last season. The Swiss maestro, who had previously registered only two top-32 finishes during a quiet season, showed tremendous grit to open his day with a 15–14 "sudden-death" victory over Spain's Manuel Bargues. Hauri then steadily built momentum, dispatching Ukraine's Koshman 15–12 before controlling his quarter-final 15–11 against Csaba Fenyvesi to guarantee his bronze.
Tristan Tulen (World number 20) continued an exceptionally decorated season by adding a Budapest Grand Prix bronze to his collection, alongside his gold medal from the Doha Grand Prix and bronze from the Heidenheim World Cup. The Dutchman showcased fantastic mental discipline, navigating an exceptionally tight 11–10 direct elimination bout against the USA's Samuel Yoo in the round of 32 before defeating neutral athlete Dmitry Shvelidze in the quarter-finals to secure his podium spot.
