Leipzig 2005

CHAMPIONSHIPS • LOS CAMPEONATOS DEL MUNDO EN LEIPZIG
■ Cinq ans après avoir été champion olympique à
Sydney, le sabreur roumain Mihaï Covaliu (à gauche)
a sorti le grand jeu pour venir à bout du Russe Stanislaw
Podzniakov.
■ Five years after his Olympic title in Sydney, Romanian
sabre fencer Mihaï Covaliu (left) had to dig deep to
overcome Russia’s Stanislaw Podzniakov.
■ Cinco años después de haber sido campeón olímpico
en Sydney, el sablista rumano Mihaï Covaliu (a la izquierda)
sacó su mejor juego para acabar con el Ruso Stanislaw
Podzniakov.
competition in their path: 45-21 against
Venezuela, 45-22 against Switzerland, 45-39
against Poland, 45-32 against Ukraine, before
rounding off the demonstration against
Germany, albeit warmly encouraged by their
supporters but lacking in gold medals: 45-31. It
was impossible to do better than this. Given
this achievement, Ukrainian épée fencers were
happy enough to climb onto the third step of
the podium as had, after the individual competition,
Holland’s Bas Werwijlen and Norway’s
Claus Moerch, a little unexpected at this level
but by no means undeservedly so. All fencers
great and small know that you can never win a
medal without talent. As it happens, Claus
Moerch’s performance is similar to that of his
compatriots, as épée fencer Fossum finished
second in the 2005 world cadet championship
and Backer third in the men’s juniors, last
spring in Linz. This has been a very good year
for Norwegian fencing that managed to transform
their progress into results.
Still on this unexpected note, the weapon
that offered the biggest turnover on the two
highest steps of the world podium is without
a doubt women’s épée. The title was won by
Poland’s Danuta Dmowska, 23, third in the
world rankings before the Leipzig championships
but who was not expected to come
up with the goods so cleverly. Athletic, righthanded,
highly focused on each hit and
therefore avoiding any error, this épée fencer
from the Legia Warsaw club managed to win,
displaying the mastery of an experienced
fencer. Danuta Dmowska was only pushed in
the final when she had to repel the bouts of
Estonia’s Maarika Vosu until the final matchwinning
touch (12-11). Watching the Polish
flag being hoisted up the mast, the new gold
medallist had good reason to be proud: since
1995 and Joanna Jalimuk’s title, another épée
fencer, no other Polish fencer had managed
to be crowned world champion in the senior
category.
That same year, Laura Flessel was bronze
medallist. Ten years on, the Frenchwoman
climbed back onto the third step of the
podium, which is another great example of
longevity. However, at 33, Laura Flessel-
Colovic, whose thirst for victory has never
been fully quenched, was putting on a brave
face but had reason to be disappointed: as the
last four fencers were presented to the crowd,
none of her three rivals seemed experienced
enough to beat her. However, Maarika Vosu,
who is only 21 but displayed remarkable psychological
strength, was not impressed by her
rival’s past achievements and thoroughly
deserved her victory, even though it was only
achieved with the final touch. At the end of the
day, what was lacking in Laura Flessel-Colovic’s
performance to win the title that has been
eluding her since 1999 and rise to the level of
Pavel Kolobkov and Valentina Vezzali? Perhaps
a little bit of that extraordinary determination
to win that, in the early years of her international
career, made her surpass herself as much
as it petrified her fiercest opponents.
Nonetheless, Laura Flessel-Colovic welcomed
the first ever senior Canadian world medal
won by the third place of Sherraine Mackay,
whose physical trainer is France’s Daniel
Levavasseur, who used to be her coach and
also helped Switzerland’s Sophie Lamon to
become Junior World Champion in 2005
after a difficult period. Nonetheless, 45-31
will remain a symbolic scoreline for French
épée fencers: this was the score in the final
won by Fabrice Jeannet and his team-mates
against Germany. This was also the score of
the gold medal winning performance by
Laura Flessel-Colovic, Maureen Nissima,
Hajnalka Kiraly-Picot and Sarah Daninthe
against Hungary. The title had been eluding
them since 1998.
The incomparable Italian foil champion
Valentina Vezzali had informed us before the
2005 world championships of her desire to
defend her title just four months after she gave
birth, remembering that, during the 2001
Nîmes championships, Laura Flessel-Colovic
had defended hers under similar circumstances.
Pietro, the child of Valentina Vezzali, 31, and
Mimo Giugliano, football player, was born on
9 June 2005. On September 9, 2005, Valentina
Vezzali was faithful to her plan to achieve something
great for her son. And the champion
from Jesi, on the Adriatic coast, is really an
exceptional young woman whose fencing talent
is complemented by a motivation beyond
comparison. Where Laura Flessel-Colovic had
ultimately failed – finishing second behind
Germany’s Bockel – she succeeded, winning
her fourth individual world champion title
(1999, 2001, 2003, 2005) combined with two
individual gold medals in the Olympic Games
(in Seoul and Athens) and an even more
impressive list of achievements in team competitions.
Valentina Vezzali thus surpasses all current and
past fencers (men and women combined).
However, it was never easy. In the final, she had
to excel to defeat the courageous German Anja
Mueller in the end (by 11 touches to 10).
Throughout the day, the foil fencer from
Tauberbischofsheim had roused the enthusiasm
of her supporters through constant changes in
pace or strategy. In this hostile environment,
Valentina Vezzali’s tournament was remarkable.
Lacking in competition practice and her counterattacking
instinct not sufficient anymore, she
had to use a range of technical skills that she
had never needed before: direct attacks,
ripostes and even counter ripostes. And above
all, she had to learn how to use the new pointe,
making whip-overs impossible, not having had
the opportunity to put it to the test earlier on in
the season.
ESCRIME INTERNATIONALE • 13
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