PARIS: Ukraine has won its first gold medal of the Paris Olympics by defeating South Korea in the final of the women’s team saber fencing on Saturday.
The Ukrainian team recovered from six points down to beat South Korea 45-42 on 22 points from individual bronze medalist Olga Kharlan. She came in for the final leg of the bout with her team at 40-37 down and went 8-2 to win.
Ukraine had two medals before Saturday’s final; a silver in shooting from Serhiy Kulish and the bronze that Kharlan won Monday in women’s saber.
That was a particularly emotional moment for Kharlan, a year after she was disqualified at the world championships for refusing to shake the hand of a Russian fencer, something which briefly put her Olympic qualification in jeopardy.
It was an incident that highlighted the tension over whether to allow Russian athletes to keep competing following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Five-time Olympian Kharlan has her sixth Olympic medal in a career that began with women’s team saber gold at the 2008 Olympics, when she was 17.
Japan beat France 45-40 for the bronze medal even though the French team had individual gold medalist Manon Apithy-Brunet and silver medalist Sara Balzer.
Ukraine wins its first gold medal of the Paris Olympics in women’s team saber fencing
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Ukraine wins its first gold medal of the Paris Olympics in women’s team saber fencing
- The Ukrainian team recovered from six points down to beat South Korea 45-42 on 22 points from individual bronze medalist Olga Kharlan
- She came in for the final leg of the bout with her team at 40-37 down and went 8-2 to win
Mahindra Racing target swift response at Mexico City E-Prix after mixed season opener in Sao Paulo
- The team showed improved pace in Brazil, with Edoardo Mortara and Nyck de Vries starting 3rd and 5th on the grid, but only the latter finished in the points
- ‘Sao Paulo was a tough start to the season but there were plenty of positives … ultimately it’s only one race, the season is long and we have plenty of opportunities ahead,’ says de Vries
LONDON: As Mahindra Racing targets an immediate response when the Formula E World Championship resumes in Mexico City this weekend, driver Nyck de Vries is confident the team can build on the positives from a difficult season opener in Sao Paulo last month.
The team showed improved pace in Brazil to become the only outfit to place both cars in the knockout Qualifying Duels, with de Vries and Edoardo Mortara starting the big race fifth and third on the grid respectively.
De Vries went on to finish ninth, picking up two points, but Mortara was forced to retire as a result of contact damage.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to racing this weekend in Mexico,” de Vries said. “Sao Paulo was a tough start to the season but there were plenty of positives for us to take away, and ultimately it’s only one race, the season is long and we have plenty of opportunities ahead of us.
“This event (in Mexico City) always brings out a fantastic crowd. You can really feel the energy from the grandstands in the Foro Sol and around the paddock, so I’m also looking forward to being back in that atmosphere.”
Mortara said team confidence remains high heading into round two of the season at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
“It’s always nice to have a little break over the festive period, so I’m feeling recharged and ready to get back to racing,” he said.
“As a team, it’s very important to keep Sao Paulo in perspective; it was a tough start but we have 16 more races ahead of us, starting with Mexico, and we know we have the car and the team to compete for strong results.
“Formula E is about having that little bit of luck, sometimes, so as long as we continue to work hard, develop and put ourselves in those positions, the results will come.”
Team principal Frederic Bertrand said the focus now is on execution after encouraging performance gains with the team’s new M12Electro car.
“It’s really important that we hit the ground running in Mexico City this weekend, and everybody is arriving recharged and refocused after a short winter break,” he said.
“In some ways we played our ‘joker’ in Sao Paulo, with a difficult weekend, but there are a lot of positives for us to take away.
“We know that we have made some steps forward in performance with the M12Electro, and are clearly stronger over one-lap pace but also race runs — our energy efficiency in Brazil was another step forward from last year — so all the ingredients are in place to be successful.
“If we can execute at the high level we now expect from ourselves, then there’s no reason why we can’t be in the challenge for the podium again this weekend.”
After the Shakedown session and first free practice on Friday afternoon, the Mexico City E-Prix will follow the established single-day format synonymous with Formula E, with the second free practice session, qualifying, and the big race itself all taking place on Saturday.
