🇮🇹 SIMONE MENCARELLI CONQUERS EUROPE IN ANTONY TO CLAIM MAIDEN EPEE TITLE

ANTONY, FRANCE — 16 JUNE 2026

Italy’s world number 8 Simone Mencarelli added the crown jewel to his breakout season, capturing his first senior continental title on the opening day of the 2026 European Fencing Championships. Competing at the crowded Éric Tabarly Sports Complex, the Italian standout showcased flawless execution to safely navigate a minefield of a bracket, eventually shutting down a fairytale run from Israel’s Alon Sarid 15–12 in a high-intensity gold medal final.

The monumental victory marks the finest milestone of Mencarelli's young individual career, building beautifully upon the silver medal he claimed at the Doha Grand Prix and his bronze performance at the Medellín Grand Prix earlier this season.

While Mencarelli took home the ultimate prize, Sarid earned a sensational silver. Denmark's Conrad Kongstad made history by securing his country's first-ever individual European epee medal, sharing the bronze step with Belgium's 2022 World bronze medallist Neisser Loyola.

Path to the Podium

Simone Mencarelli (World number 8) began his quest with a clinical 15–5 dismantling of Croatia’s Igor Sola, but his championship mettle was instantly tested in the round of 32. Facing teammate and seasoned veteran Andrea Santarelli, Mencarelli won a breathtaking tactical duel 11–10. He carried that momentum into the last 16, routinely pacing past Paris 2024 Olympic team bronze medallist Jakub Rubes of the Czech Republic 15–7.

In the quarter-finals, the Italian survived an absolute 14–13 cliffhanger against Spain's Yulen Pereira, who had previously shocked defending champion Roman Svichkar (UKR) in the opening round. Mencarelli then earned his place in the final by clipping Kongstad 15–14 in a point-for-point semi-final epic.

Alon Sarid (World number 127) manufactured the definitive giant-killing story of the championship, defying his ranking to secure a historic silver. Emerging from the grueling poule rounds as the number three overall seed, the 20-year-old Israeli talent showed nerves of steel to dispatch AIN's Georgiy Bruev (15–13), Bulgaria's Kiril Rashaida (15–13) and Ukraine's Oleksandr Makiienko (15–12).

In the quarter-finals, Sarid mounted a brilliant comeback from behind to eliminate domestic teammate Yuval Freilich 15–12. He then booked his gold medal appearance by utilizing explosive counter-attacks to slide past Loyola 14–13 in an emotional semi-final finish.

Conrad Kongstad (World number 14) wrote an iconic chapter for Danish fencing, securing a historic bronze medal to go along with the gold he captured at the Fujairah World Cup earlier this season. Kongstad dominated the early bracket, stopping domestic teammate Patrick Jensen 15–12, downing the Netherlands' Rafael Tulen 15–12, and executing a 15–6 clinic against Hungary's world number 13 Mate Tamas Koch. After pushing past Portugal's Filip Frazao 15–11 in the quarter-finals, his brilliant campaign was halted by a single touch against Mencarelli.

Neisser Loyola (World number 29) reestablished his elite tournament credentials, capturing a hard-fought bronze medal. The 2022 World Championship bronze medallist stood tall through a grueling bracket, easing past Poland's Bartlomiej Socha 15–9 before silencing the partisan home crowd with a 15–11 victory over France's Kendrick Jean Joseph. Loyola then utilized superb blade speed to defeat Switzerland's Max Heinzer Bayard 15–11 and Hungary's David Andrafsi 15–13, securing a proud podium finish before falling to the relentless Sarid.

Full results are here.