MANAMA, Bahrain, Nov. 12-20, 2025 – The 2025 Bahrain Veteran Fencing World Championships have completed nine days of enthusiastic individual and team competition, featuring 911 fencers in their 50s, 60s and 70s-plus, as well as a new demonstration category of 40s-plus, from 64 countries. A new category, “Grand Team”, included fencers in their 60s and 70s-plus, while athletes in the “Team” category were in their 40s and 50s.
Overall, from the 2024 Dubai Veteran World Championships, this year there was an increase of 10 percent in the number of participating nations, and a 6.5 percent increase in the number of individual fencers.
In a statement to the athletes, FIE Interim President Abdelmoneim El Husseiny said, “Fencing truly transcends age, and these Championships exemplify its enduring appeal and accessibility. For many veteran athletes, fencing represents not just a sport but a lifelong pursuit. Their unwavering commitment serves as an inspiration to younger generations, exemplifying the qualities the define a true ‘fencer’”.
The Championships were opened officially by FIE Executive Committee member Ms. Velichka Hristeva (BUL). She congratulated the organisers and local organising committee on a “fantastic job well done” and offered praise of the impressive display by these “incredibly competitive and vigorous senior adult fencers, with so much history and so many stories in our sport”.
“For me, it’s a real pleasure to be in Manama, to continue fencing and to compete with other fencers”, said France’s Pascal Jolyot, who won individual men’s 60 foil. “There’s a very pleasant camaraderie, with excellent fencers who are tough to beat, and going all the way isn’t easy at all, it’s challenging.”
“Amazing, amazing, I’ve won before in 2023 and once you win, you know you can win, and that makes you even more nervous”, said the USA’s Julie Seal, who won gold in women’s 50 foil and bronze in sabre. “It’s more important to have faith in yourself than it is to be worthy to win.”
As part of the Championships, an FIE Roundtable was held on Nov. 18 entitled “Veteran Fencers as Role Models: Health, Responsibility and the Future of Our Sport”. In addition to Ms. Hristeva, the Roundtable included a video statement by Khaled El Mekwad, United Nations Resident Coordinator as well as panellists including Paul Midgley, Team Lead, ITF World Tennis Master Tour; Joyce Bolaños, FIE Veterans’ Council and FIE Fencing and the Environment Working Group member; Antonio Fiore, President of the FIE Medical Commission; Rita Comes, President of the FIE Veterans’ Council; and Victor Bianchini (POR), active veteran fencer.
At the closing ceremony on Nov. 20, the FIE flag was ceremoniously passed from Bahrain to Georgia, where the 2026 Veteran Fencing World Championships will be held in Tbilisi.
The Championships were held in Manama’s Isa Bin Rashid Hall, with a total of 24 individual and 12 team competitions taking place in epee, foil and sabre. The USA led the medal count with a total of 33 (10 gold, 6 silver, 17 bronze), followed by Italy with 25 (9 gold, 10 silver, 6 bronze) and Germany with 12 (6 gold, 3 silver, 3 bronze). In all, 21 nations received at least one medal.
Click here to see the complete list of medallists and medal table.
The Championships were livestreamed on the FIE’s FencingTV.com with live commentary in five languages, and the event was fully covered on FIE social media platforms.
Complete and official results for the event may be found here on the FIE web site.