World number-one-ranked sabre fencer Eli Dershwitz has won his first World Cup event of the year in Poland, taking out the individual competition on Saturday in Warsaw.
Dershwitz defeated Italy’s Luca Curatoli in the final bout of the FIE Men’s Sabre World Cup in Warsaw, Poland, by a margin of 15-9 on Saturday, February 2. Dershwitz had to overcome 5th-ranked Korean Sanguk Oh in the semifinals, which he did by one point, 15-14.
He also defeated U.S. Olympic teammate Daryl Homer, 15-13 in the table of 16, before victory against another Korean, Jonghyun Lee, 15-11 in the quarterfinal.
Curatoli had a slightly tougher run into the final, coming up against experienced German, Max Hartung in his semifinal — winning15-14 — and then managing to beat former Russian world champion, Veniamin Reshetnikov, by the same margin.
Taking to his Instagram account in the wake of the victory, Dershwitz posted a moving tribute to his Polish grandparents.
“GOLD MEDAL AT THE POLAND WORLD CUP! Amazing and emotional day as my mother told me this morning that my Polish grandparents, who came to America 75 years ago, would be watching over me today. 📸: ,“ he wrote on the picture-sharing app.
The result was a return to the form that earned Dershwitz the number-one ranking last season, after he failed to get past the table of 32 at the previous world cup event in Algeria in November, 2018.
In the teams event, Italy were able to withstand France by one touch, 45-44, to take gold, and Russia defeated Hungary, 45-36 to claim the bronze.
Full Results:
Individual
1. Eli Dershwitz USA, Gold
2. Luca Curatoli ITA, Silver
3. Max Hartung HUN, Bronze
3. Sanguk Oh KOR, Bronze
5. Bongil Gu, KOR
6. Kamil Ibragimov, RUS
7. Venianmin Reshetnikov, RUS
8. Jonghyun Lee, KOR
Full results on FIE.org
Teams
1. Italy, Gold
2. France, silver
3. Russia, Bronze
4. Hungary
5. Korea
6. Romania
7. Germany
8. China
Full results on FIE.org