Manon Apithy-Brunet beat fellow Frenchwoman Sara Balzer on Monday night at the Grand Palais in central Paris to win the 2024 Olympic women’s sabre title.
The 28-year-old, who claimed bronze in the sabre in Tokyo in 2021, overcame the world number two 15-12 in the final to become the first Frenchwoman to win the sabre title since it was introduced into the Olympics in 2004.
“I’m so happy, it’s something I’ve been dreaming of,” Apithy-Brunet told French broadcaster France Televisions.
Apithy-Brunet is only the third French female fencer after Pascale Trinquet and Laura Flessel to brandish an Olympic gold.
Her triumph yielded France with their fifth gold medal of the Olympics and with Balzer’s silver – the team’s eighth – it took the delegation’s haul up to 16 medals since competitions were officially launched on Saturday.
Success
Earlier on the third day of the Games, Nicolas Gestin won the canoe-kayak slalom.
The 24-year-old fnished ahead of Britain’s Adam Burgess and Matej Benus from Slovakia who took the bronze.
In the swimming pool at La Défense Arena, Tatjana Smith claimed the accolade of first African to win a gold medal in Paris.
The South African swimmer won the 100m breast stroke in 1 min, 05.28 seconds. Tang Qianting from China was second and Mona McSharry from Ireland was third to give her country its first swimming medal since the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.
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