As we conclude our exploration of Olympic fencing disciplines, let’s turn our attention to Women’s Sabre. Sabre discipline is lightning-fast and complex, with dynamic actions and split-second decision-making. It is a thrilling and emotionally charged spectacle, making it fun to watch.

The Women’s Sabre Individual competition is scheduled for July 29, 2024, and the team competition is scheduled for August 3, 2024, at the Paris Olympic Games. Let’s examine some of the top contenders and rising stars to watch. Each of these fencers has the potential to claim gold or a medal, and the competition promises to be fierce.

Women’s Sabre Individual Event

Olga Kharlan (Ukraine) – World Rank: 6 (in FIE) and 1 (in my heart)

I want to start my overview with this Ukrainian fencer, an incredible athlete, and person who inspires many women and girls worldwide. At 33, Kharlan is one of the most decorated fencers in the history of women’s fencing and by far the most decorated fencer in these Games, man or woman. She took the world of international fencing by storm since she entered it twenty years ago.

Kharlan is the Olympic Champion in teams in Bejing; she is four times Individual World Champion – a second woman after legendary Italian foilist Valentina Vezzali in the number of world titles; she won 6 European titles (Individual), 14 World Cups, and 16 Grand Prix. Overall, Olga Kharlan holds 25 (this is twenty-five) titles under her belt – Olympic, World, European, Universiad, and Junior Worlds. In three Olympic Games (2012 London, 2016 Rio de Janeiro, and 2021 Tokyo), she earned four medals, including Team Gold and Silver and two Individual Bronze. If this isn’t mind-blowing, reread this paragraph.

Key Achievements:

• 2008 Olympic Gold (Team)
• 2012 and 2016 Olympic Bronze (Individual)
• 2016 Olympic Silver (Team)
• Four-time Individual World Champion (2013, 2014, 2017, 2019)
• 16 times Grand Prix and 14 times World Cup winner
• 8 times European Champion, including 6 times Individual

I must admit that I have conflicting feelings. While, as an American, I root for American fencers more than for anybody else, this discipline is unique to me, and I root for Olga. She said this would be her last Olympic Games, and nothing would fit her illustrious career better than claiming the crown. And as for the Americans, being young and talented, I hope they will make it to the podium in these Games and look up to her for inspiration.

Misaki Emura (Japan) – World Rank: 1

At 25, Emura established herself as the world’s top-ranked women’s sabre fencer, a remarkable achievement for the Japanese fencer. Interesting fact: In her Junior career, Emura was a good fencer but not exceptional—she never won any medals in Junior World Championships, and in Cadets, she was twice a Bronze medalist. Her rise to the World’s top happened only when she moved to the Senior circuit.

Key Achievements:

• Currently ranked #1 in the world for the 2023/2024 season
• Two-time World Champion (2022 in Cairo, Egypt and 2023 in Milan, Italy)
• Multiple World Cup medals, including silver in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium (2024)
• Gold medal at the 2024 Asian Championships in Kuwait City

Emura’s rise to the world rankings is a testament to her skill and consistency. Her back-to-back World Championship titles in 2022 and 2023 demonstrate her ability to perform at the highest level in major competitions.

As she approaches her first Olympic Games, Emura brings a wealth of recent success and the pressure of being the world’s top-ranked fencer. Can she add an Olympic medal to her impressive collection of medals? No Japanese woman has ever won one, and if Emura wins a medal, this would be a historic achievement! She already made history – twice – with her World Championship titles, so we could safely expect another fantastic performance from her. Her presence elevates the entire competition, and her bouts will be must-watch events for any fencing fan.

Sara Balzer (France) – World Rank: 2

In the last two years, 29-year-old Balzer established herself as one of the dominant forces in women’s sabre. This left-handed French fencer has been on a remarkable run recently—in the last 15 months, she won the World Cup six times! That’s an incredible achievement, which places her among the top contenders for the title, as it is clear she can beat anyone on the circuit.

Key Achievements:

– 2021 Olympic Team Silver medalist

– Ranked #1 in the world in 2022-2023

– Multiple World Cup victories in the last two seasons

– Silver medalist in the 2023 European Championship

– Two times team European Champion (200

Balzer’s consistency at the highest level is remarkable. Her multiple World Cup victories this season show she’s in top form heading into the Olympics. She won a Silver medal in teams in Tokyo, making the podium by substituting Charlotte Lembrach in the final match. Now, she’s a definite part of the formidable French team alongside her experienced teammates, Manon Brunet-Apithy and Cecilia Berder. With the home crowd behind her in Paris, we can expect her to add an individual Olympic medal to her impressive collection.

Lucía Martín-Portugués (Spain) – World Rank: 4

Martín-Portugués qualified for the Olympics via her Individual World Ranking, occupying the second spot of two allocated for individual athletes from Europe. This 33-year-old right-handed Spanish fencer has been a consistent performer on the international circuit this season.

Key Achievements:

– Gold at the 2022 World Cup in Algeria

– Multiple World Cup and Grand Prix medals

– Gold at the 2024 Grand Prix in Tunisia

Martín-Portugués climbed in the world rankings by earning three medals this year (Gold, Silver, Bronze) in Grand Prix and World Cup and consistently finishing in the top 8 and 16. So, she showed that she could compete against the top fencers in the field. Of course, the question is if she can translate her consistent performances into Olympic success and bring Spain its first medal in women’s fencing.

Manon Apithy-Brunet (France) – World Rank: 5

At 28, Brunet is another key member of the solid French sabre team, the most accomplished among the current French roster. With the absence of the reining Olympic Champion from Tokyo, Sofia Pozdniakova, and Vice-Champion Sofya Velikaya, she is the only fencer in these Olympics to win an Individual medal in Tokyo. This right-handed fencer has consistently performed at the highest level for years. 

Key Achievements:

– 2021 Olympic Bronze (Individual) and Silver (Team)

– 2018 Team World Champion

– Multiple World Cup victories

– Gold at the 2023 Grand Prix in Orléans, France

Brunet’s Olympic pedigree is impressive, with individual and team medals from Tokyo. Her experience and ability to perform under pressure make her a serious contender. These Games will be her third; each previous time, she gradually improved: fourth place in Rio and bronze in Tokyo. Given this mathematical trajectory, her home crowd cheering, and the enormous psychological and mental support from her husband, the member of the French sabre team, Bolade Apithy, will she be able to upgrade her Olympic bronze to gold?

Theodora Gkountoura (Greece) – World Rank: 7

Gkountoura qualified Individually based on her FIE ranking at the end of the qualification period and bypassed her teammate, Despina Georgiadou, by a thin margin. Both fencers were in the top 5 fencers in the world at the moment of qualification – Theodora was #3, and Despina was #5. One would imagine that a country with two World athletes is strong in this discipline, but apparently not that much – Greece as a country has only them at the top, followed by athletes who rarely make it to the second day of the World Cups (in fencing, there is first day with preliminary rounds and second day with main round of top 64). Often, Greece didn’t even have a team for the major tournament. As a result, Greece couldn’t qualify for the Olympics, and only one fencer from a country was allowed to participate based on individual ranking. So among the two fencers, after the qualification period, Gkountoura and Georgiadou, the former was ranked #3 in the World. The latter was ranked #5 in the World, so only Gkountoura qualified.  Whether it’s fair or not, rules are the rules for everybody, even when the result is cruel. Still, it is sad that we won’t see two of them competing in Paris.

Anyway, back to Gkountoura, who has been steadily climbing the ranks and is now one of Greece’s top sabre fencers. Standing at an impressive 1.84m (6 ft 0 in), this right-handed fencer brings both physical presence and technical skill to the piste.

Key Achievements:

– Bronze medal at the 2019 and 2023 World Championships

– Gold medal at the 2023 Grand Prix in Seoul

– Multiple World Cup and Grand Prix medals

– Bronze medal at the 2023 European Games

Gkountoura’s podium finishes at World Championships, World Cups, and Grand Prix show she can compete with the world’s best. Could she make history by winning Greece’s first Olympic fencing medal since the 1896 inaugural Games in Athens?

Elizabeth Tartakovsky (USA) – World Rank: 10

At 24, Tartakovsky emerges as the leader of a new generation of American sabre fencers. She has big shoes to fill as American sabre fencing is one of the strongest in the world, but we hope she will have the grit to reach the top. 

Key Achievements:

– Gold at the 2024 Pan-American Championships

– Bronze at the 2024 World Cup in Lima, Peru

– Several top-8 and top-16 finishes in World Cups and Grand Prix events

Tartakovsky already demonstrated that she feels at home competing with the world’s best and her results propelled her to the world #10 ranking – a good place to start Olympics.

These fencers represent the incredible depth and diversity of talent in women’s sabre fencing. With such fencers as Olga Kharlan and Misari Emura on one side and experienced French sabreists on another, from Olympic medalists to young prodigies, left-handers and right-handers, the Olympic sabre competition promises to be a showcase of varied styles and strategies.

Remember, in sabre, the speed of the actions and the complexity of the right-of-way rules mean that a bout can turn on a single touch. The unpredictable nature of the discipline, combined with the pressure of the Olympic stage, means that every bout has the potential for drama and upset. Who will rise to the occasion in Paris? We’ll have to wait and see, but one thing’s for sure – it will be electrifying!

Women’s Sabre Team Event

Eight nations have qualified for the team event in Paris. 

France (World Rank: 1) 

France has dominated women’s sabre this season, consistently performing at the highest level. Their recent strong performances in World Cups and Grand Prix events – Silver at the last 2023 World Championship in Milan, Gold in the 2024 European Championship, 4 Gold medals in World Cup, Silver or Bronze medals in any other competition this season -make them one of the top two contenders for the Gold, the second one will be Hungarians. This team roster was the same when they won the Tokyo Silver medal, featuring experienced fencers such as  Sara Balzer, Manon Apithy-Brunet, and Cecilia Berder. Undoubtedly, the French team will be looking to capitalize on their home advantage and upgrade their medal to a better color.

Hungary (World Rank: 2) 

Hungary, too, features a team that is experienced in winning together. The team features experienced Anna Marton (who by the way, fenced the least at the World Championship in Milan) and young and talented three other fencers who just recently graduated from Juniors. Working together, the team won the 2023 World Championship, each match finishing with a solid gap, showing that in team competition, the most essential element is team cohesion and tactics. They have it and will aim to reach the top of the podium. With fencers like Anna Márton, they have the experience and skill to challenge for the top spot on the podium.

Interestingly, Hungary is the most successful country in men’s sabre. In contrast, in women’s sabre, none of the sabreists reached the podium in any Olympic event but were super successful in the World Championships, winning the last two in a row. It would be great to see them break this dry Olympic streak.

Ukraine (World Rank: 3) 

Ukraine, led by the legendary Olga Kharlan, has been a consistent force in women’s sabre. The Ukrainians are one of the most experienced and decorated teams in the field, and like the French team, it features Olympic Silver medalists from 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. They are coming from the European Championship in Basel in June 2024 with a bitter taste, losing one touch to France in the final match. In that match, Kharlan wasn’t in her best element, but I’m sure she will return to her best form for the Olympics and would love to take France for revenge. 

Korea (World Rank: 4) 

Korea is another example showing that to have great team results, you don’t need to have the best fencers on the team; you need the best teamwork, cooperation, good tactics, and trust. In the last two critical competitions, Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2023 and World Championships in Milan in 2023, Korea won Bronze. Korean sabre fencing is one of the strongest in the world, and this team has good potential for a medal.

USA (World Rank: 5) 

The United States team, featuring rising stars like Elizabeth Tartakovsky, has shown promise this season. They’ll be aiming to make their mark on the Olympic stage.

Italy (World Rank: 7) 

Women’s sabre is the weakest of all weapons in Italy, a traditional powerhouse in fencing. When I say ‘the weakest,’ you should understand that I compare women’s sabre to other disciplines in Italian fencing, not relative to other countries. Not shy about getting on the world podiums, including the highest place, such as the 2017 World Championship title, Italy can compete for medals. However, like Hungary, no Italian woman or team succeeded in winning any medal in women’s saber in the Olympic Games. So, seeing if Italians could create magic with their seasoned team would be interesting.

Japan (World Rank: 8) 

Japan, led by world #1 Misaki Emura, has made significant strides in women’s sabre. In the post-Olympic season, they reached the podium a few times, but at this point, I won’t consider them major medal contenders despite having two-time World Champion Misaki Emura as their leader. Still, everything is possible at the Olympics, and we must watch them closely.

Algeria (World Rank: 17) 

Algeria’s qualification is a significant achievement for African fencing. Their primary goal was to qualify for the Olympics, which means to be among the top 16 teams in the world ranking and the top African team. They delivered on that goal, and the team’s fencers will have a unique opportunity to experience the Games.

The Women’s Sabre Team event promises to be highly competitive, with several teams capable of reaching the podium. I think the medals will be contested between France, Hungary, Ukraine, and Korea, but of course, it’s not uncommon to see dramatic upsets in Olympic fencing. The team competition format allows for dramatic turnarounds and unexpected results, making it one of the most exciting events in fencing. With the level of talent across these eight teams, and especially the leaders, we can expect thrilling matches from the first round to the gold medal bout.

Women’s Sabre Complete Roster

Women’s Sabre Teams and Individual Events:

France:Sara Balzer, Cécilia Berder, Manon Brunet, Sarah Noutcha (Team Alternate only)

Hungary: Anna Márton, Liza Pusztai, Luca Szűcs, Sugar Katinka Battai (Team Alternate only)

Ukraine: Olga Kharlan, Alina Komashchuk, Olena Kravatska, Yuliia Bakastova (Team Alternate only)

Korea: Sebin Choi, Ha-young Jeon, Jisu Yoon, Eunhye Jeon (Team Alternate only)

USA: Elizabeth Tartakovsky,  Tatiana Nazlymov, Magda Skarbonkiewicz, Maia Chamberlain (Team Alternate only)

Italy: Michela Battiston, Martina Criscio, Chiara Mormile, Irena Vecchi (Team Alternate only)

Japan: Misaki Emura, Risa Takashima, Shihomi Fukushima, Seri Ozaki (Team Alternate only)

Algeria: Kaouther Mohamed Belkebir, Saoussen Boudiaf, Zohra Nora Kehli, Kaouther Mohamed Belkebir (Team Alternate only)

Women’s Sabre Individual Event:

Theodora Gkountoura (Greece), Lucía Martín-Portugués (Spain), Yoana Ilieva (Bulgaria), Hengyu Yang (China), Zaynab Dayibekova (Uzbekistan), Nada Hafez (Egypt), Pamela Brind’Amour (Canada), Anna Bashta (Azerbaijan), Nisanur Erbil (Turkey), Yasmine Daghfous(Tunisia), Katherine Paredes Torres (Venezuela), Aigerim Sarybay (Kazakhstan)

This roster includes 36 fencers competing in Individual events and 8 teams in Team events in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The exact composition may vary based on final qualifications and team selections.

To learn more about Olympic Fencing, read our comprehensive guide here. To expand your knowledge of key players in other disciplines, read our special editions on Men’s Epee, Women’s Epee, Men’s Foil, Women’s Foil, and Men’s Sabre.

Image: Serge Timacheff/FIE