🇮🇹 SANTUCCIO STRIKES ST. MAUR GOLD TO CAP UNSTOPPABLE REGULAR SEASON
Updated: Aug 6
ST. MAUR, FRANCE — 23 MAY 2026
World number 2 Alberta Santuccio (ITA) solidified her position as the absolute woman to beat heading into the summer championships, storming to the gold medal at the St. Maur Women’s Épée World Cup. On the final weekend of the regular ranking season, the 2023 World Championship silver medallist and two-time European bronze medallist displayed imperious form in France, cruising past the USA’s Hadley Husisian 15–8 in a one-sided final.
The victory marks Santuccio’s second consecutive gold medal following her triumph at the Medellin Grand Prix, crowning a staggering regular season that features five individual international podiums (including silvers in Fujairah and Wuxi, alongside bronze in Astana).
While Santuccio claimed the top step, Husisian (USA) secured a superb silver medal to bag her second podium of the campaign. The bronze medals were shared by South Korea’s Lim Taehee and China’s Yang Jingwen.
Path to the Podium
Alberta Santuccio (World number 2) showed the heart of a champion early on, surviving a nerve-shredding 14–13 opening battle against Israel's Yana Botvinnik. From there, the Italian maestro found her rhythm, comfortably handling teammate Lucrezia Paulis and Poland's former Junior European Champion Martyna Klughardt. After clinically dismantling the USA's Catherine Nixon 15–10 in the quarter-finals and holding off a spirited Yang Jingwen 15–11 in the semi-finals, Santuccio dominated the distance in the final to claim gold.
Hadley Husisian (World number 9) put together a phenomenal run to the final, matching her bronze-medal prowess from the Fujairah World Cup earlier in the season. The double Pan American silver medallist showed immense poise in the later rounds, first knocking out home favorite and Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist Auriane Mallo-Breton 15–13 in the round of 16. Husisian then engineered a massive quarter-final upset by out-pointing world number 1 Katrina Lehis (EST) 15–12, before comfortably dispatching Lim 15–9 in the final four.
Lim Taehee (World number 15) locked down her second bronze medal of the regular circuit, matching her third-place performance from the Vancouver World Cup. Lim showcased great tactical versatility throughout a difficult draw, edging out Astana bronze medallist Diane Von Kerssenbrock (FRA) 13–12 in the 32 before eliminating three-time African Champion Alexandra Ndolo (KEN) 15–12 in a high-octane quarter-final duel.
Yang Jingwen (World number 23) was delighted to capture her first international podium of the season. The reigning Asian Championship silver medallist played the role of ultimate bracket spoiler in the round of 16, where she produced a tactical masterclass to shock world number 3 and reigning Asian Champion Song Sera (KOR) 15–13. Yang followed that up by surviving a razor-thin 15–14 quarter-final thriller against Italy's Gaia Traditi to guarantee her bronze.
