Genoa European Championships: double bronze for Italy in men’s epee and women’s saber
Italy wins two more medals on the fifth day of the Genoa 2025 European Championships with a double bronze signed by the men’s epee and women’s saber teams, to fly to 11 in the overall tally.
Third place of great value for the unprecedented quartet of epee fencers, composed of veteran Andrea Santarelli, the young but already established Davide Di Veroli and two rookies, individual silver medalists – still at the age of Under 20 – Matteo Galassi and Gianpaolo Buzzacchino. Precious and well-deserved bronze also for the female saberists, the more experienced Michela Battiston and Chiara Mormile, the smaller Manuela Spica and Mariella Viale, also – like Galassi – 20 years old and belonging to the Youth category to celebrate a first among the bigs with personality and courage to spare.
The Italian epee team debuted in the round of 16 by beating Estonia with authority with a score of 45-21. With a splendid performance, in the following match, the athletes of CT Dario Chiadò and led on the bench by men’s epee delegate Diego Confalonieri and master Alfredo Rota managed to overcome Switzerland 40-37 at the end of a vibrant and balanced match. In the semifinals for Italy came the stop against France, which won 45-33, thus diverting the Azzurri to the bronze medal match against Germany. Here, with a great desire to redeem the loss suffered with the transalpines and to climb the podium in their home European Championships, the Italian quartet always commanded the match, writing the 40-28 verdict that gave Italy its first medal of the day.
The Italian quartet was able to win the bronze medal.
Less than an hour and the joy of bronze was enriched and enhanced by women’s saber. Italy’s Michela Battiston, Chiara Mormile, Mariella Viale, and Manuela Spica defeated in the round of 16 draw the AIN formation, composed of “neutral” Russian athletes, with the result 45-38. One show of strength after another, the girls of CT Andrea Aquili, flanked by master Marco Ciari, defeated Spain 45-40 in the quarters, the right verdict after an applauding performance. Even in the semifinals against the battleship France, the Italian saberists struggled with honor, surrendering 45-37. Heart-stopping, then, was the final for third place against Hungary: the Magyars were ahead for eight fractions out of nine, trying several times to run away, but Italy managed to stay always in the wake of the opponents and, after a comeback by Chiara Mormile, came to play it all on the final credits. The last and decisive hit, the 45-44 one, was scored by Michela Battiston, bringing our women’s saber back to the European podium two years after the Krakow 2023 edition.
With 11 medals won in five days, Italy thus arrives at the sixth and final day of the Genoa 2025 European Absolute Championships scheduled tomorrow with team competitions in women’s epee and men’s foil. For Italy’s CT Dario Chiadò on the piste are epeeists Rossella Fiamingo, Giulia Rizzi, Alberta Santuccio and Lucrezia Paulis. They will make their debut in the round of 16 (10:20 a.m.) against one between AIN and the Netherlands.
Commissioner Simone Vanni’s quartet of foil fencers, on the other hand, will consist of Guillaume Bianchi, Alessio Foconi, Filippo Macchi and Tommaso Marini, debuting in the quarterfinals (at 1 p.m.) against the winner of Austria-Spain.
Finals – first for bronze and then for gold – live from 3:30 p.m. on RAI Sport and Sky Sport.
