Leonie Ebert won gold with the foil at the start of the title fights in Antalya.
The 22-year-old from Werbach prevailed on Friday evening in the final battle against two-time world champion Arianna Errigo 15:11. Ebert had previously knocked out former title holder Alice Volpi (also Italy) 15:9.
For the Olympic participant, it is the first individual medal at the European Championships and the greatest success of her career. In 2017, the four-time German champion won bronze with the team.
After Ebert’s triumph, the German Fechter-Bund (DFeB) can look calmly at the other competitions: At the Olympics in Tokyo, Germany remained in upheaval without a medal.
Saber men fail
On the first day of competition in Turkey, the saber men around the top seeded Matyas Szabo all failed in the round of 16 at the latest. After the career end of exceptional fencer Max Hartung, the team that won gold at the 2019 European Championships is in the process of being rebuilt.
For the first time since the title fights in Düsseldorf, an EM will take place again. Further individual competitions are on the program on Saturday and Sunday, and the fight for team medals begins at the start of the coming week.