Italy’s triumph in men’s foil World Cup in Paris

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Italy’s triumph in men’s foil World Cup in Paris

Italy’s foilists è still golden, for the third consecutive time in the 2024/2025 season, at the dawn of the new Olympic quadrennium. As last November in Tunis, as in December on the Japanese platforms in Takasaki, the Hymn of Mameli sounds today in Paris: three men’s foil World Cup team competitions, on three different continents, and three successes for the Italian team. Filippo Macchi, Alessio Foconi, Giulio Lombardi and Guillaume Bianchi triumphed as well at the “Stade Pierre de Coubertin”, unleashing a super performance, sanctioned first by the semifinal win over host France and then by the success in the final at the ’last hit, 45-44, against Olympic champion Japan.

The training of CT Stefano Cerioni, and led on transalpine soil (due to a flu virus for the Technical Commissioner) by masters Filippo Romagnoli and Eugenio Migliore, è been dominant from the’dawn of the competition. In fact, Italy debuted with a clear victory over Spain in the round of 16 match, with a score of 45-15. In the quarters Filippo Macchi, Alessio Foconi, Giulio Lombardi and Guillaume Bianchi then overcame Korea 45-34, thus reaching the semifinals that saw them oppose the French home favorites. Even against the transalpines who were supported by a large crowd, however, the Azzurri asserted their superiority on the platform, filing the match with the result of 45-39.
It è thus arrived at the final with Japan: Italy tried to run away in the score more than once, but Shikine and his teammates never gave up, the denouement was point to point and the gold was decided at the last hit, scored by Macchi for the 45-44 that sanctioned the third consecutive victory of the Italian men’s foil team.

It closes in triumph for the Italian expedition, then, also the 2025 edition of the historic men’s foil World Cup stage in Paris: yesterday the success of Alessio Foconi (awarded this afternoon by teammate Tommaso Marini in the “passing of the baton” between the winner of 2024 and this year’s winner), today again the Tricolor on the highest step of the podium for the team competition. All this on the same day that the foil team led by CT Stefano Cerioni (stra)also won in the women’s leg in Hong Kong (with the quartet formed by Arianna Errigo, Martina Favaretto, Anna Cristino and Elena Tangherlini) and less than a month from the  Grand Prix “Italian” scheduled to take place in Turin, a highly anticipated event that provides – as a stage of the d’élite circuit of GPs – only individual competitions with increased points and whose final stages will be staged on Sunday, February 9, from 6 p.m., at the Inalpi Arena.

For Italian fencing, the splendid weekend that opens the calendar year of international competitions is not yet over: in Tunis, in fact, in the saber Grand Prix will come a medal from Michela Battiston, who landed in the final (which she will play at 7:20 p.m.).

WORLD COP FENCING MALE TEAM FENCING – Paris (France), Jan. 12, 2025

Here are the results
Final
ITALY b. Japan 45- 44

Semifinals
ITALY b. France 45-39
Japan b. USA 45-39

Quarterfinals
ITALY b. Korea 45-34

Eighth finals
ITALY b. Spain 45-15

Ranking (29): 1. ITALY (Filippo Macchi, Alessio Foconi, Giulio Lombardi, Guillaume Bianchi), 2. Japan, 3. USA, 4. France

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