Lehis, who took women's individual épée bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and was part of the gold medal-winning Estonian team, rose two places to the top in the latest FIE world rankings.

This came after winning her second épée Grand Prix in her career, in Budapest, defeating local competitor Eszter Muhari after an arduous route through the tournament.

Lehis' last Grand Prix victory had been four years ago in Doha. With her victory in Budapest, Lehis rose from third place to first in the world rankings.

"It sounds great. It came as a bit of a surprise to me. I wasn't thinking about it during the tournament, but of course it is very positive," Lehis said post-tournament.

"You always have to fight. There is a battle at every tournament, regardless of whether the result turns out this good or not," she continued. "Yesterday was a bit of a contradictory day. In the morning it was difficult; I actually felt quite bad and didn't know what to expect, but at the same time that maybe took the pressure off. I knew I wasn't feeling good, but I would go out and fight and then we'd see what happened. That helped me stay calm and clear-headed in the matches when I was trailing."

Five of Lehis' six victorious matches went down to the wire, including her 15–13 semi-final win over Frenchwoman Auriane Mallo-Breton, silver medalist at the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Muhari, fencing in front of her home crowd, went 11–6 up in the final. However, Lehis managed to force things into extra time with five consecutive touches, going on to win by the slimmest of margins, 12–11, ending a very long day's competition.

Katrina Lehis is your champion in Budapest after a dramatic bout that went all the way to a priority minute!
Congratulations to Eszter Muhari who takes home silver!

Rewatch exclusively on https://t.co/tXVx0ZHioJ#escrime #esgrima #fencing #budapest #hungary pic.twitter.com/hZ8JYnlCv9

— Fencing (@FIE_fencing) April 19, 2026

"When you're behind, you get the feeling that you no longer have anything to lose and you have to try doing something differently, because if you keep doing the same thing and don't try to change anything, the score will stay the same. Personally, I think that protecting a lead is a little more difficult than being the one coming from behind, because I'm constantly searching and figuring things out. I have to find a way to catch up. The person who is ahead has to be able to maintain that position. At moments like that, it is very much a mental game, and it is an interesting aspect of fencing that such a huge part of it ultimately comes down to mentality," Lehis explained of her mental game on the day.

However, ultimately a strong physical condition was the foundation of the successful tournament, she found. "Physical fitness is vital if you want to tough out such a long day. We were in the hall at 8 a.m., but I didn't have a first-round match, so my [first] match started at 10 a.m. Those who started earlier had arrived in the hall even earlier. So the day was very long, and the start of the final was delayed too. I left the hall a little before 10 p.m. Physical condition is definitely very important and, based on yesterday, I would say it is good, but it requires constant work and maintenance. As soon as you stop paying attention to it, you won't make it through the day," she noted.

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