🇪🇬 SARA AMR HOSSNY EDGES ONE-TOUCH THRILLER TO DEFEND AFRICAN FOIL TITLE

ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST — 1 JUNE 2026

Egypt's world number 22 Sara Amr Hossny staged a phenomenal defensive masterclass on the opening day of the 24th African Fencing Championships, successfully defending her individual women’s foil continental crown. In an exact replica of last year's final, Amr Hossny went head-to-head with host-nation favorite Maxine Esteban (CIV), keeping her composure under maximum pressure to seal a dramatic, heart-stopping 15–14 victory.

The golden finish solidifies Amr Hossny’s absolute supremacy on the continent, while Esteban took home a bittersweet silver—marking her third consecutive individual silver medal at this event.

The bronze medals were shared by Tunisia's prodigiously talented teenager Yasmine Soussi and Egypt's incredibly decorated veteran Noha Hany.

Path to the Podium

Sara Amr Hossny (World number 22) looked entirely locked in from her opening exchanges, sweeping all four of her ranking round matches to secure the number 2 seed for the direct elimination phase. The Egyptian champion turned the early knockout stages into an absolute clinic, yielding single-digit scores by dismantling Ivory Coast's Abiba Koffi 15–1 and Senegal's Awa Coly 15–4. In the semi-finals, she put on a clinic to push past her teammate Hany 15–3, before showcasing elite tactical poise to out-touch Esteban in front of a vibrant Abidjan crowd.

Maxine Esteban (World number 32) earned her spot in the final with a beautifully fluid, aggressive performance. The top-seeded Ivorian went a perfect 5–0 in the ranking round to secure a first-round bye in the direct elimination bracket. From there, she put on an exhibition for the home fans, systematically eliminating Egypt's Malak Khaled 15–7 in the quarter-finals and out-fencing Tunisia's Soussi 15–9 in the final four before falling just a single touch short in the gold medal match.

Noha Hany (World number 48) celebrated a historic milestone by capturing her staggering 13th career African Championship medal. The experienced Egyptian veteran dominated her side of the draw out of the poules, locking down back-to-back 15–3 blowout victories over Togo's Akossiwa Lamega and South Africa's Giselle McCabe before her golden charge was halted by her domestic teammate in the semi-finals.

Yasmine Soussi (World number 115) manufactured an exceptional run to lock down her third consecutive continental individual podium at just 17 years old. After recovering well from a tough poule loss against Esteban to secure the 4th seed, the Tunisian prodigy put on a masterclass in direct elimination composure, routinely dispatching South Africa's Roxy Lambert 15–5 and Ivory Coast's Saliou Zeboudj 15–6 to secure a brilliant bronze.

Full results here.