Giulia Rizzi and Alberta Santuccio: blue show.
Blue show
Italian spectacle in the individual competition of theWomen’s Epee World Cup stage in Nanjing: Giulia Rizzi sits on the highest step of the podium and makes the Hymn of Mameli sound on Chinese soil, but in the beautiful Italian morning also shines the bronze medal of Alberta Santuccio.
Second success for Giulia
Second success in the rainbow circuit for Giulia Rizzi, following her December 2022 victory in Vancouver, but also second podium for her in 2024 (she had been silver in Doha). The Friuli-based fencer of the Fiamme Oro in the first two assaults of the day overcame Poland’s Pawlowska 15-11 and Estonia’s Lehis 15-12. Thanks to a point-to-point match she è then imposed herself in the round of 16 against Korea’s Kang 12-11, entering among the “top 8”. In the quarters again a photofinish success for Giulia against China’s Tang 15-14, allowing her to land in the medal zone. And the è is not over.
Semifinal and final dominated
A great victory for Rizzi as well in the semifinals, where she got the better of Poland’s Swatowska-Wenglarczyk with a result of 15-10 winning the chance to play for the triumph in the Chinese stage. In the final, thanks to a match that was always conducted, the Italian woman class ’89 overcame Korea’s Song 15-8, thus winning her second career World Cup round.
Alberta also on the podium
Giulia Rizzi atop the podium, Alberta Santuccio on the third step. The performance of the Sicilian of the Fiamme Oro è began with successes in the first rounds against Japan’s Suzuki 14-7 and then with Switzerland’s Krieger with a clear 15-4. In the round of 16, the reigning vice world champion faced and won the Italian derby against Nicol Foietta with a score of 15-7. Again a wide victory for Alby also in the quarterfinals against France’s Epee, which allowed the class ’94 policewoman to return to the individual Cup podium that she had been missing since her triumph in Tallinn in November 2022 (but in between had been the individual silver in Milan).
A bitter stop
In the semifinals a bitter stop, by one stroke, against Korea’s Song with a score of 11-10 and the final bronze medal for Alberta Santuccio, who makes morale, ranking and palmares (è her seventh medal in the rainbow circuit).
Fiamingo at the foot of the podium
The’excellent day of the Italian women spadists, however, told of something else as well. It è stopped a step away from the podium the test of Rossella Fiamingo. Fifth place for the Catanian champion of the Carabinieri, who had overcome first Japan's Yoshimura 15-12 then the neutral athlete Murtazaeva 7-6, entering among the “top 8” with the success over Poland's Knapik-Miazga 13-12. The stop in the quarters against another Polish holder, Swatowska-Wenglarczyk, with a score of 15-11 only made “Ross” caress a medal that in any case è always closer.
