Italy wins world gold in team foil: Bianchi stops the USA at the last gasp.

World champions with a thrill. A mere swipe of a lead at the end, against the United States, who had rallied from 35-25 to 43-42. But Guillaume Bianchi managed to close with the bare minimum against Alexander Massialas, and in Tbilisi, Italy won the men's team foil gold medal with a team also comprising Filippo Macchi, Tommaso Marini , and Alessio Foconi. This marks the first Italian gold medal at the Tbilisi World Championships after Friday's three bronze medals. For the foil fencers, it confirms the title won in Cairo in 2022, adding to the silver medal at the Paris Olympics.

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It was a consistently uncertain final, changing course every time it seemed destined to favor one team. Italy, for example, when Bianchi inflicted a 5-0 on Nick Itkin in his first assault, but immediately afterward a total blackout by Macchi followed, who suffered a 10-2 that put the United States ahead by three thrusts (and coach Simone Vanni was good not to immediately replace the Paris Olympic vice-champion). Marini was not intimidated by the situation, and he remained close to Meinhardt throughout, even leading him by 2 points until the +1 (partial of 7-3) with which he replaced Macchi. This time he was ready against Itkin, 20-19 at the end of the three-minute assault that gave Bianchi the chance not only to avoid having to come back, but even to break away from the USA represented by Bryce Louie (25-21). Marini increased his lead (30-25), and Macchi even resurfaced, running a 5-0 against Meihardt, which opened up a ten-hit advantage for Italy. Was it all over? No, because Marini returned to the floor tired and devoid of energy, taking a 10-2 defeat from Itkin, who left everything dangerously in the hands (and in the foil) of Bianchi. The Frascati native, whose mother is French as his first name suggests, started well, but Massialas didn't give up, even capitalizing on a red card that reduced the Italian's lead to a single hit. But in the end, the clock stopped, bringing back to Italy the gold of a weapon that has always been ours; the first world team gold dates back to the 1929 edition in Naples.

The fourth swordswomen

The Olympic épée champions, however, failed to reach the podium. Rossella Fiamingo, Giulia Rizzi, Alberta Santuccio, and Sara Maria Kowalczyk (who replaced the retiring Mara Navarria ) failed to defeat South Korea in the bronze medal match, losing 37-31. The match got off to a bad start with Song's 4-0 lead over Fiamingo, who made way for Kowalczyk. Rizzi recovered two hits, and Kowalczyk tied the score (7-7). The final remained balanced until the final bout, but Santuccio, who landed the winning hit in overtime in Paris, succumbed to Song. In the semifinal, the Italians had lost 45-32 to France in a rematch of the Olympic final.