🇮🇹 UNSTOPPABLE ITALIAN WOMEN MARCH ON TO EUROPEAN TEAM FOIL GLORY

ANTONY, FRANCE — 20 JUNE 2026

The Italian women’s foil squad reinforced their absolute global hegemony on the fifth day of the 2026 European Fencing Championships, sweeping to a magnificent team gold medal. Competing at the Éric Tabarly Sports Complex in Antony, World number one Italy delivered an overwhelming statement of intent by dispatching hosts France 45–31 in an entertaining gold medal bout.

The flawless victory preserves Italy’s astonishing undefeated record this season, having stood on the top step of the podium at every single World Cup circuit stop. The dominant champions will now head to Hong Kong for the World Championships aiming to complete an historic perfect season sweep.

While France claimed a hard-earned silver medal to add to their seasonal collection, World number nine Ukraine fought through an absolute cliffhanger to capture their first podium of the season with bronze, leaving a disappointed Spain in fourth.

Path to the Podium

Team Italy, fielding a superstar roster of Martina Batini, Anna Cristino, individual silver medallist Arianna Errigo and Martina Favaretto, received a first-round bye before opening their account with a 45–27 dismantling of Poland. The top seeds encountered little resistance in the semi-finals, executing a comprehensive 45–22 tactical rout against Ukraine to cruise into the final.

The gold medal match against France was broken wide open from the first “allez”. The Italian trio of Cristino, Favaretto and Errigo stormed out of the blocks to establish an untouchable 15–2 advantage after the opening three legs. Although the French athletes fought back tenaciously to edge the middle three legs, the early damage proved fatal as Italy still maintained a comfortable 30–18 cushion after six relays. Batini came off the bench to replace Errigo in the closing stages, safely preserving the margin as the clinical Italians ran out comfortable winners.

Team France, consisting of Pauline Ranvier, Eva Lacheray, Ysoara Thibus and Anita Blaze, added a proud continental silver to a collection that already features World Cup silver medals from Hong Kong and Cairo alongside a bronze from Palma de Mallorca. Following an opening bye, the host nation survived a highly competitive 42–39 quarter-final battle against the Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN).

The French booked their final berth with a 45–40 semi-final win over Spain. France jumped out to an early advantage and managed the match beautifully, effectively conserving their physical energy for the final whenever the Spaniards threatened to close the gap.

Team Ukraine, utilizing a balanced lineup of Alina Poloziuk, Kristina Petrova, newly crowned individual European Champion Olga Sopit and Dariia Myroniuk, celebrated a milestone afternoon by securing a fully deserved bronze medal. Ukraine opened their campaign by downing Moldova 45–31 before eliminating Hungary 45–29 in the quarter-finals.

Following a severe semi-final defeat to Italy, the Ukrainians engaged in an absolute 45-minute dogfight against World number five Spain for the final podium spot. Ukraine led 13–10 after the opening three legs and systematically constructed a steady 30–22 cushion by the conclusion of the seventh leg.

Spain mounted a dramatic late surge in the eighth frame as Maria Diaz produced a brilliant 9–4 scoring run against Myroniuk to turn the tie into a nerve-shredding affair. Spanish anchor Maria Marino stepped onto the strip trailing by three touches against Sopit. Despite Marino's absolute best efforts to salvage the match, the individual champion defended her space flawlessly to run out the clock and seal a breathless 37–36 victory for Ukraine.

Team Spain, represented by individual bronze medallist Maria Marino, Maria Diaz, Ariadna Tucker and Ariadna Castro, suffered immense heartbreak to miss out on the podium by a single touch. The higher-seeded Spanish squad entered the tournament as genuine medal contenders after capturing World Cup silver in Istanbul earlier in the season but simply ran out of time in their dramatic bronze medal comeback.

Full results are here.