🇺🇸 UNSTOPPABLE USA WOMEN SECURE SEVENTH STRAIGHT PAN AMERICAN SABRE CROWN

LIMA, PERU — 19 JUNE 2026

The United States’ World number six Team USA continued their absolute, ironclad monopoly over the women’s team sabre discipline on the fifth day of the 2026 Pan American Fencing Championships. Competing in Lima, the clinical American squad dismantled the field with overwhelming offensive firepower to capture their seventh consecutive continental team title, capping off their day with a commanding 45–29 victory over Argentina in the gold medal final.

While Argentina produced a highly commendable tournament run to secure their second successive continental silver medal, World number 23 Mexico pulled off the surprise of the afternoon by out-pointing Canada to seize a spectacular bronze.

Path to the Podium

Team USA, who lined up with Maia Chamberlain, Sophie Liu, Lola Possick and Siobhan Sullivan, received an initial first-round bye before easily turning aside World number 34 Brazil 45–29 in the quarter-finals.

In their semi-final bout against Mexico, the coaching staff opted to keep individual standout Liu on the bench. The Americans took charge straight away, establishing a steady 15–12 lead after the opening three legs and widening that cushion to 30–21 after six. Mexico brought in Alejandra Beltran for Vanessa Chavez in the eighth leg to try and spark a late rally but the effort was to no avail as the USA stormed into the final with a comprehensive 45–28 victory.

The gold medal match against Argentina was a total exhibition of early dominance. The Americans completely overwhelmed their opponents in the opening third, rushing out to an untouchable 15–4 lead. The USA then brought in Possick for Liu to close out the remaining legs, maintaining a flawless rhythm to comfortably protect the margin and seal the title 45–29.

Team Argentina, consisting of Candela Espinosa Veloso, Catalina Borrelli, Maria Perez Maurice and Maria Perroni, safely secured their second straight silver medal after navigating a heavily competitive path. They opened with a routine 45–22 win over Bolivia before fighting through an absolute 45–44 quarter-final cliffhanger against Colombia.

With veteran Olympian Perez Maurice resting on the bench, Argentina faced Canada in the semi-finals. The Argentine athletes seized control of the strip early, carving out a 15–11 advantage after three legs. They systematically doubled that lead across the middle of the match to build a 30–22 cushion after six legs, easily running out 45–33 winners to book their final berth.

Team Mexico, represented by Natalia Botello, Alejandra Beltran, Vanessa Chavez and Regina Pedraza, celebrated a fantastic breakthrough by capturing their first women's team sabre medal since winning silver back in 2023. Mexico opened their account by crushing Peru 45–16 and dominating Venezuela 45–29 in the quarter-finals.

Following their semi-final defeat to the USA, the Mexicans engaged in an absolute classic pendulum-swinging battle against Canada for the bronze medal. Canada managed to edge the opening three legs 15–14, though Pedraza kept the match within touching distance for Mexico by outscoring Yifei Liu 7–5 in the third leg. That gritty stand spurred Mexico on to completely boss the middle of the match, surging into a 30–26 lead after six legs. The drama peaked in the eighth leg when Beltran came in for Chavez, only for Canada's Yifei Liu to produce a blistering 9–3 run that handed Canada a 40–38 lead going into the anchor leg. Refusing to back down, Botello dug deep for Mexico, executing a spectacular 7–3 final-leg clinic over Zhi Jun Liu to seal a thrilling 45–43 victory.

Team Canada, fielding a line-up of Madison Thurgood, Julia Xiao, Zhi Jun Liu and Yifei Liu, suffered immense heartbreak to miss out on the podium for the second successive year. The World number 20 squad had looked impressive early with a 45–21 rout of Chile but they simply could not contain the late-bout heroics of Mexico in the play-off.

Full results are here.