Sabre, Individual, Men

The big question coming in was if Hungary’s Áron Szilágyi would win his fourth consecutive gold medal in the event. He was seeded only #6 and the question was answered early, as he lost his first match to the #27 seeded Canadian, Farès Arfa. With Szilágyi out, the focus settled on the #1 seed, Egyptian Ziad El-Sissy, and the second seed, Georgia’s Sandro Bazadze. Bazadze was world ranked #1 early in 2024, but he fared no better than Szilágyi, losing in the round of 16 to El-Sissy’s teammate, Mohamed Amer, 15-14.

Upsets continued as El-Sissy made it to the semi-finals but then lost to Tunisian Fares Ferjani, the 13th seed. In the other half, Korea’s Oh Sang-Uk defeated Italian Luigi Samele to advance to the final. Oh was the 2019 World Champion and favored over the unknown Ferjani, and he won gold relatively easily, 15-11. This was the fifth gold medal for Korea in men’s fencing, moving them to sixth all-time among NOCs.

This was the first Olympic fencing medal by a Tunisian man, although Inès Boubakri won bronze in the 2016 women’s individual foil. Tunisia’s previous best finish in this event had been 22nd by Ferjani at Tokyo 2020. Their previous best finish in a men’s individual fencing event was 17th by Mohamed Samandi in 2012 individual foil. Luigi Samele took the bronze medal, defeating El-Sissy in the bronze medal match, 15-12.