By Priscilia Adeyemi

Mohamed El-Sayed successfully defended his Men’s Individual Épée title, while compatriot Sara Amr secured her first continental gold in the Women’s Individual Foil at the 23rd African Fencing Championships on Wednesday, June 25, at Charterhouse Lagos.

El-Sayed, the world’s top-ranked épée fencer, edged fellow Egyptian Mahmoud Had Mohsen 11–10 in a fiercely contested final to become the tournament’s first gold medallist. The defending champion cruised through the early rounds but faced a major test in the semifinals, where he narrowly defeated his brother, Mahmoud El-Sayed, in a tense 15–14 showdown.

In the women’s foil event, Amr delivered a composed and commanding performance to defeat Côte d’Ivoire’s Isabel Esteban 15–8 in the final. The second-seeded Egyptian had earlier edged teammate and 2024 bronze medallist Noha Hany 15–13 in a hard-fought semifinal.

Esteban, who caused one of the tournament’s biggest upsets by eliminating top seed Malak Hamza of Egypt 15–8 in the semifinals, earned silver after falling short in the final against Amr.

“I focused on staying calm and managing each match one at a time,” Amr said following her victory. “It wasn’t easy, but I’m proud of how I handled the pressure.”

Egypt’s strong showing on Day 1 of the championship reinforced their dominance on the African fencing scene, setting the tone for what promises to be a competitive week of action in Lagos.