France topped the final medals table of the World Fencing Championships, leaving Cairo with eight medals, including four gold, two silver and two bronze. South Korea finished in second place with three gold medals and Italy third with eight medals, including two gold, four silver and two bronze.

The tournament was played in Cairo Stadium from 15 to 23 July,

The French achievement came after a long draught of medals. “I am very happy with the performance of the French at these World Championships,” Bruno Gares, president of the French Fencing Federation, said. “In fact, this competition was perfect from all sides. On the one hand we won eight medals including four gold. On the other, we attended this unforgettable event and enjoyed the pharaonic decorations and the pharaonic mask as a trophy for the world champion.”

Despite the absence of medals – Egypt is not known for its fencing on the world stage – the Pharaohs at least proved they are commendable hosts of fencing tournaments. The World Championships was the third international fencing event that Egypt hosted this year, having organised the World Cup and Grand Prix events earlier in the year.

The Egyptians made it to the finals which brings together the first eight in three different events. The best Egyptian performance was sixth place in the team saber (achieved by the team composed of Mohamed Amer, Ziad Al-Sisi, Moataz Medhat and Adham Medhat), sixth place in the individual foil by Alaaeldin Abou Al-Kassem, the 2012 Olympic silver medalist in London and the eighth place in the team foil (achieved by Abou Al-Kassem, Mohamed Hamza, Mohamed Hassan and Mohamed Essam). In the women’s event, the best performance was in the team epee which finished 12th.

“These performances represent an achievement for Egypt,” Abdel-Moneim Al-Husseini, president of the Egyptian Fencing Federation, said.

“For the first time since 1949, Egypt reached the finals which brought together the first eight. It should also be noted that in 1949 when Egypt had won medals, the number of participating countries was only six.

“Egypt has a very young generation. Most of the fencers who competed in these World Championships also participated in the Junior World Championships a few months ago and won medals. So, Egypt has a generation for the future. With experience, these athletes will be ready to compete for medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics,” Al-Husseini added.

President of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) Emmanuel Katsiadakis praised the organisation of the World Championships. “I am very happy with the Egyptian organisation of these World Championships. The idea of ​​mixing sport with Egyptian civilisation was brilliant. The Pharaonic atmosphere that reigns at the Cairo Stadium makes this edition imaginary. All the participants enjoyed this atmosphere; they took pictures everywhere. In addition, the pharaonic mask as a trophy for the winners is magnificent. I consider these World Championships to be the best of all time,” he said.

“Last year, Egypt hosted the World Junior Championships with great success in a critical time during the Covid-19 pandemic and the organisation was perfect. In addition, in recent years Egypt has organised several World Cups and Grand Prix events with great success. I have full confidence in the capacity of the Egyptian Fencing Federation chaired by Abdel-Moneim Al-Husseini. This federation has extensive experience in the organisation of major events,” Katsiadakis added.

On the performance of the Egyptian fencers, Katsiadakis said Egypt had made “great progress” at the international level in fencing. “In terms of juniors, Egypt is becoming one of the great nations in the discipline. And at the senior level, Egyptian fencers have made great progress. Egypt have several talented athletes especially at the junior level and they need time to gain experience and start reaping the rewards of their labour,” the FIE president said.

In a measure of the success of the tournament, athletes participating in the championship were dazzled by the transformation of the venue from just three simple indoor halls to a pharaonic temple, where all gate entrances were decorated with pharaonic statues. The two small indoor halls displayed pharaonic tombs bearing the names of Egyptian kings and queens while the main indoor hall was transformed into a pharaonic temple with all the intricate details.

“The excellent Egyptian organisation of this event has made our mission to organise the next edition in Italy very difficult,” said Paolo Azzi, president of the Italian Fencing Federation and host of the 2023 World Championships in Italy.

 “I’m impressed by all the details here. I feel like I’m in a Pharaonic temple and I love the crown of the first place, which is a mask of a king or queen of the Pharaohs.”

The Fencing World Championships traditionally punctuate every non-Olympic season. But since the last edition in Hungary in 2019, Covid-19 affected the cycle. It has therefore been three years since the World Championships changed hands. This is why this edition witnessed a relatively high audience number of 2,000. It included nearly 1,000 athletes representing 105 countries.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 28 July, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.