Fencing: Lacheray and Garrigue win gold, a successful first day for the French at the European Championships

The European Fencing Championships in Genoa (June 14-19) have just begun, and the French team has already won two titles, thanks to foil fencer Eva Lacheray and sabre fencer Rémi Garrigue, who were crowned European champions on Saturday, June 14, in the Italian port city.

The former set an example by winning a closely contested final against Great Britain's Carolina Stutchbury (15-12). Throughout the day, the leader of the French team ( ^9th in the world rankings) dominated each of her matches, eliminating her compatriot Morgane Patru in the quarter-finals. At 25, she won the first continental title of her career and cemented her

After her defeat in the round of 16 at the 2024 Paris Olympics, she had a strong start to the season, marked by a first personal podium finish at the World Cup in Cairo in March. In Egypt, the Franche-Comté native notably won against world number 1 and double American Olympic champion Lee Kiefer. Before the competition, Eva Lacheray was one of the French delegation's top medal hopes. "I'm on a mission, there are a lot of ambitions," the young woman had declared before the start of the championships.

A few minutes later, it was Rémi Garrigue's turn to win the first European title of his senior career. At 20 years old, the French fencer (ranked ^26th in the world) faced sabre legend, Hungarian triple Olympic champion Aron Szilagyi. Having gotten off to a bad start in the final and logically trailing 8-3 at the start of the match, he managed to turn the final around in his favor to ultimately win without striking a blow (15-11).

On his way to the final, the Frenchman had to win twice in sudden death, in the last 16 – against his compatriot Maxime Pianfetti – and in the semi-finals. After his continental junior title in 2024, Rémi Garrigue has made a perfect entry into the world of the big boys.

In addition to these two titles, the French team also took home a bronze medal, won by Jean-Philippe Patrice. Ranked fourth in the world, he was expected to win the title but lost in the semi-finals to Aron Szilagyi. However, he confirmed his strong start to the season, during which he twice reached the top step of the World Cup podium.

Eva Lacheray and Rémi Garrigue have already helped Les Bleus do better individually than they did a year ago in Switzerland, as only Luidgi Midelton in épée had been crowned in Basel, a few months before the Olympic Games. The European Championships continue until Thursday, June 19. On Sunday, the men's épée and women's sabre competitions will take place, with Olympic runner-up Sara Balzer in particular. The French team hopes to continue its good medal haul in the Genoese city.