Estonia's U23 men's épée team takes European Championships bronze
Estonia's men's épée team won bronze on the final day of the Under-23 European Fencing Championships in Cagliari, Sardinia.
After receiving a bye in the opening round of the main tournament, Estonia, consisting of Kasper Tafenau, Oliver Laasik, Valentin Altunin, and Erik Tobias, went on to fence two closely contested matches, first defeating Spain 45–43, and then Germany by the same score.
While in the semifinals, the foursome were beaten by Israel 45–39, in the bronze medal playoff match, the Estonians triumphed over Poland 45–42.
The U23 women's team were just outside the medals, after wins over Spain (33–32) and Ukraine (45–40). A loss to hosts Italy in the semi-finals brought them, too, to the bronze medal playoff match, again against Poland. However, this time Estonia lost, 45–21.
Both the women's and men's teams were coached Helen Nelis-Naukas, also coach of Nelli Differt, who was just outside the individual medals at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
