The fencing competition at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris has got underway, and two Canadian fencers delivered second round upsets on Saturday. In the women’s epee, Ruien Xiao of Markham, Ontario, the 25th seed, upset Nathalie Moellhausen of Brazil, the eighth seed and 2019 World Fencing champion, 15-11, in the first round. Then in the men’s sabre, Fares Arfa of Laval, Quebec, the 27th seed, upset Aron Szilagyi of Hungary, the sixth seed, 15-8. This was a gigantic upset as Szilagyi had won the last three Olympic gold medals in fencing at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021.In fact, Szilagyi is the only fencer ever to win three Olympic gold medals.
Xiao will next face Olena Kryvytska of Ukraine in the third round (Saturday at 6:35 AM MT). Kryvytska is the 24th seed. Even though Kryvytska is relatively lower ranked, she has a formidable resume. She won the bronze medal in the women’s individual epee at the 2017 World Fencing Championships in Leipzig, and at the 2019 World Fencing Championships in Budapest, Hungary. What is most remarkable is that Xiao is only 16 years old.
Arfa will next face 38-year-old Bolade Apithy of France, the 11th seed at 7:25 AM MT on Saturday. Apithy was part of the French team that won the team sabre gold at the 2023 European Games in Krakow-Malopolska, Poland.
