Épée, Team, Women

This was a wide-open event as five different teams had won the last five World Championships. Italy came to Paris 2024 world ranked #1 but had not won the event at the World Championships since 2009, although they were the silver medalists at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. Korea was the World Champion in 2022 and won a bronze medal in 2023, behind Poland (gold) and Italy (silver). They were also the silver medalists at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Poland came to Paris 2024 as the defending World Champion, winning the title in 2023 in Milano, Italy, but had yet to win an Olympic medal in women’s team épée. Estonia was the defending gold medalist in this event but was world ranked #9 and did not make the field for Paris 2024.

Korea was upset in the first round by the French team, but Italy and Poland got through to the semi-finals, joined there by China, where Italy crushed China, 45-24, and France defeated Poland to set up an Italy-France gold medal match. France led the final after six bouts, 19-15, but Italy then chipped away at the lead, winning the seventh and eighth bouts to go ahead 24-23. Alberta Santuccio met Marie-Florence Candassamy in the final bout but, when time ran out, they were tied 6-6, and Italy had the gold medal, 30-29. Poland and China were tied in their third-place match after eight bouts, but Aleksandra Jarecka won the deciding match over Yu Sihan, 7-6, to give Poland their first-ever medal in women’s team épée.