Schrader, Delavoipiere finally golden at under 23 World Championships

Germany’s Felix Schrader finally made it to the top of the podium in the men’s epee after winning silver and bronze in foil and epee in previous days.

Entering the final unbeaten, 19-year-old Schrader faced Hong Kong’s Long Ho Chow for gold.

Ho Chow himself claimed bronze in epee at the under 17s World Championships and lost just one match en-route to the final on Friday.

Schrader was a man on a mission however and proved impossible for Ho Chow to beat. The German comfortably pulled away from his opponent to claim victory with a 15-6 scoreline.

With the win, Schrader also improved on his silver medal from the 2019 under 17s World Championships.

“Thank you to everybody for this. I could not do it without them,” Schrader said. “It’s very good. I got three medals [in Sao Paulo], so it’s perfect. Danke Alle!”

Schrader’s teammate Julius Haupt secured bronze completing his medal collection after winning gold in foil and silver in sabre.

France’s Quentin Fernandez-Anssoux took his second bronze of the competition.

France’s Clemence Delavoipiere also finally got her hands on gold after finishing elsewhere on the podium twice this week, in the women’s epee.

A tense and drawn-out final against Turkey’s Elke Lale Van Achterberg ended with Delavoipiere needing to go on the defensive. The French 22-year-old had to hold on for the win as the referee judged both fencers to be non-combative and called a final minute at the end of three rounds.

“It was great at the beginning and then it became really different. The Turkish fencer became really fast and I was not really good! At the last moment, after the minute without touches when I had the priority I knew I just had to go on my back,” Delavoipiere said.

The silver is Van Achterberg’s second after claiming the same colour in the foil on the previous day.

Hungary’s Anna Nadasdy finished on her third podium, but this time settled from bronze after losing her semi-final to Van Achterberg. The medal is a fine end to Sao Paulo 2022 for the 17-year-old who claimed gold in both sabre and foil on her international debut this week.

Canada’s Amber Briar will also be pleased with her bronze at her first under 23 World Championships.

Matches can be watched back at the IWAS Wheelchair Fencing website, alongside results. Pictures are available for editorial use here.

The 2022 IWAS Wheelchair Fencing Americas Championships now get underway from 22-25 October, also in Sao Paulo, gathering wheelchair fencers from across the region