(Photo by Eva Pavía #BizziTeam - FIE)
Canada and the US won their first Junior World Championship title in women’s and men’s epee team respectively at the 2026 Junior and Cadet Fencing World Championships at Carioca Arena 1 in Rio de Janeiro.
Canada defeateding Hungary 45-26 in the gold medal women’s epee final while the United States defeated Israel in a men’s gold medal final.
The Canadians’ route to gold was far from straightforward. They edged second-ranked Ukraine 27-26 in overtime in the quarterfinals before beating the United States 45-35 in the semifinals.
In the final, Canada’s defence held firm throughout, with quick footwork and well-timed flèche attacks keeping Hungary at a distance.
The score was 45-26. The Canadian team of Nicole Xuan, Ruien Xiao — both individual bronze medallists — and Julia Yin, the 2025 Junior World Champion (Wuxi, China), was the decisive force throughout.
The United States took bronze, defeating Italy 45-36.
In then’s final, Israel led 29-23 after six legs and appeared to be closing in on gold. The United States brought in Elijah Imrek for the seventh leg, and he proceeded to score and bring Team USA back into the bout — outscoring his opponent 8-2 with an awkward style and well-placed flèche attacks to pull the match level at 31.
From there, Nathaniel Wimmer — individual silver medallist — won his leg 5-0 to set up Simon Lyoznyansky, who closed out the match and delivered the United States their first World title in this event, 45-39.
In the semifinals, the United States beat China 45-31 while Israel came from behind — 29-24 down — to beat Hungary 45-41.
Hungary took bronze, beating China 45-20.
