PLOVDIV, Bulgaria, April 3, 2023—USA and Hungary won the gold medals in men’s and women’s junior team sabre at the 2023 Plovdiv Junior and Cadet Fencing World Championships. Today’s competitions, on the third day of 18 individual and team events taking place from April 1 to 9, included 36 men’s and 29 women’s teams and are being held at the Plovdiv International Fair.
USA faced Egypt in the final match of junior men’s team sabre, winning with a 45-38 score. Egypt won against Uzbekistan in the semifinal round, 45-34, while USA defeated Romania, 45-41. The bronze medal went to Romania over Uzbekistan, 45-30.
“Going into the final round, I was pretty nervous but I was able to find a middle ground”, said USA’s Colin Heathcock. “The hardest thing for the team was managing the stress of the day and not going too quickly. We stayed calm, gave each other advice as a team. It was not possible without the teamwork we have. And now it feels amazing.”
Hungary faced Italy in the final match of junior women’s team sabre, winning with a 45-44 score. Italy won against Bulgaria in the semifinal round, 45-18, while Hungary defeated Uzbekistan, 45-43. The bronze medal went to Bulgaria over Uzbekistan, 45-33.
“It was a hard one, but we did it”, said Hungary’s Kira Keszei. “It involved a lot of patience and training, and concentration. It is an amazing feeling for us all to win a World Championship, we’ve never done it before—last year we won a silver medal—so it’s a really big thing for us.”
Final rankings in junior men’s team sabre included USA (gold), Egypt (silver), Romania (bronze), Uzbekistan, France, Spain, Italy and Japan.
Final rankings in junior women’s team sabre included Hungary (gold), Italy (silver), Bulgaria (bronze), Uzbekistan, USA, France, Canada and Türkiye.
Complete and official results for the event may be found on the FIE website. For more exciting world fencing news and features, check out the YouTube FIE Fencing Channel.
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