First day without medals at the World Championships: Fiamingo, Santuccio and Macchi eliminated in the quarterfinals
TBILISI – The first day of the World Championships in Tbilisi ended with three Italians just shy of the podium. Alberta Santuccio and Rossella Fiamingo in the women's épée, and Filippo Macchi in the men's foil, finished just a few strokes away from the medals. The foilist managed just one, beaten 15-14 by Hong Kong's Choi after initially being awarded the winning medal. Santuccio and Fiamingo, however, lost in a curious Olympic champion derby against Estonians: Embrich and Lehis , who won team gold in Tokyo three years before the Italians' success at the Grand Palais, proved fatal. "It's definitely not a bad day, considering we've placed two athletes among the top eight in the world," said Olympic champion coach Dario Chiadò. "It's clear that we were expecting a medal that both Alberta and Rossella came close to winning and deserved. But we mustn't forget the excellent performance our girls had." Giulia Rizzi and Sara Maria Kowalczyk, however, were eliminated in the second round in the tournament won by Ukraine's Kharkova .
Hong Kong's Choi, who won gold by beating Russia's Borodachev in the final, not only defeated Macchi but also European champion Guillaume Bianchi, who exited in the round of 16 along with Alessio Foconi . The real negative surprise was the elimination of reigning world champion Tommaso Marini . "We're not looking for excuses and we'll get back to work immediately to analyze and correct the mistakes we made," said foil coach Simone Vanni: "This day without a medal gives us even more energy and unity ahead of the team competition."
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