As in the men’s test, the round of 16 is also fatal for the girls in the last saber Grand Prix of the season. Cliff not overcome by Martina Criscio and Michela Battistonwho have to stop their journey a couple of victories away from the podium area. France and Spain celebrate on the Korean platforms of Seoul, who monopolize the semi-finals. After two derbies in the penultimate act the victory goes to the Iberian Araceli Navarro, capable of resisting in the final to the Frenchman’s comeback Sarah Noutcha (15-13). Sara Balzer and Lucia Martin-Portugues must instead sit on the third step of the podium.
Navarro who finds one of those days to remember in lifeafter a season that had never before seen it get past the round of 16. For Spanish, who experienced the highest peak with the bronze at the World Championships in Cairo, it is the first career success in a Grand Prix or World Cup event. A truly high level path for her, who beat, among others, the Ukrainian Olga Kharlan and the French Apithy-Brunet on the way to the last act. A final assault then dominated in the first part, led 8-3 at the break, in which they then had to suffer Noutcha’s return attempt. The Frenchwoman came close to completing the comeback, and can still smile for the first podium in her career in a Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix season therefore ends for Italy with only third place Chiara Mormile in the Tunis stage, with the Italian who today she was forced to raise the white flag at the decisive thrust of a first round that more than halved the Italian sabers on the scoreboard. Only four out of nine girls managed to win on their debut in the thirty-second round, which however also featured an all-Italian derby. Two instead achieved two victories: Criscio and Battiston.
Their journey began with success respectively in the fratricidal clash on Rebecca Gargano with a score of 15-9, and against the Hungarian Liza Pusztai with 15-8. In the round of 32 another Italian derby for Criscio who beat Claudia Rotili 15-14 with the last thrust, while the Friulian got the better of the French Cyrielle Rioux by 15-13 after a very tight sprint. For both the stop came in the round of 16: the Apulian was beaten by the Bulgarian Ilieva 15-9, while Battiston by the always fearsome Transalpine But not Apithy-Brunet (15-12).
The defeats on debutin addition to those of Gargano and Mormile, have arrived for Manuela Spica15-10 against a wild Navarro; Giulia Arpino, almost never in the match against the Uzbek Zaynab Dayibekova; And Benedetta Fusettiwho fought with great ferocity but could do nothing against the transalpine champion Sara Balzer (15-12). However, Irene Vecchi was eliminated in the second roundsent home with a score of 15-9 by the Greek team Despina Georgiadou. There is one World Cup stage missing at the end of the 2023-2024 season which the girls will play in Plovdiv (Bulgaria), before thinking about the European Championships in June and the Paris Olympics.
