Estonian fencer Katrina Lehis claims second European title with épée gold
Estonia's Katrina Lehis took épée gold after a dominant run in France this week, earning her second European title at the European Senior Fencing Championships.
Lehis secured the title in Antony with a commanding 15-10 win over Germany's Alexandra Ehler in the final, taking a 3-0 lead and building it to 7-2 after two periods before closing out the bout.
"It's incredible, of course," Lehis said, who finished with silver last year. "Anyone who's reached a final and won knows the feeling."
She added that her supporters stood out even if small in number. "I don't have the biggest fan club here, but it's definitely the loudest!" she said. "I'm incredibly happy."
Earlier in the knockout rounds, Lehis went undefeated in pool play before navigating a steady progression of victories through the draw.
She opened direct elimination with a tight 9-8 overtime win over Romania's Emma Sonti, then went on to beat Sweden's Elvira Martensson 15-12 to reach the top 16.
The Estonian fencer stayed in control from there, defeating Hungary's Blanka Nagy 15-12 before knocking out Italy's Giulia Rizzi 15-7 in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Lehis beat Hungary's Eszter Muhari 15-10 to book her place in the final.
Katrina Lehis WINSat the European Senior Championships after defeating Alexandra Ehler 15-11
— Fencing (@FIE_fencing) June 18, 2026
Congratulations to Eszter Muhari and Alicja Klasik for the bronze
Bizzi / Augusto Bizzi#fencing #escrime #esgrima #antony #france pic.twitter.com/qqDRCDeHJe
Growing list of titles
This year's gold marks Lehis' second European title, adding to a career medal haul that includes Olympic bronze, world silver and European and Olympic team titles.
Elsewhere in the women's competition, Julia Beljajeva won five of six pool bouts, while Veronika Zuikova and Irina Embrich each recorded four victories.
Embrich was defeated 11-10 by France's Diane von Kerssenbrock in her opening direct elimination round, while Zuikova was defeated 15-8 by Italy's Giulia Rizzi.
Beljajeva opened the knockout stage with a dominant 15-5 win over Lithuania's Paulina Bajorunaite-Stauske, but lost 15-7 to von Kerssenbrock in the round of 32.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla
