Path to the podium

Barbara Brych entered the World Fencing Championships in Hong Kong as the 78th-ranked épée fencer in the world and without a previous podium in senior championship events. She leaves with a bronze medal and the best result of her career.

The Pole opened her Saturday campaign by defeating Austria’s Luise Elmer 15:9 in the round of 32. She then stunned the field by eliminating world No.3 and Olympic bronze medallist Eszter Muhari of Hungary 15:12. In the round of 16 she brushed aside Japan’s Tamaki Terayama 15:8, before facing American Hadley Husisian, ranked sixth in the world, in the quarter-final.

That decisive bout went to overtime, where Brych landed the winning touch with 17 seconds remaining to prevail 14:13 and secure at least a bronze medal. It was the first individual World Championship medal for a Polish women’s épée fencer since Ewa Trzebińska’s silver in 2017 and the 91st World Championship medal in Poland’s fencing history.

Semi-final halt

The run ended against Italy’s Giulia Rizzi, the 37-year-old world No.8 and Olympic team champion. The early exchanges were cautious, with Brych leading 2-0 before Rizzi drew level at 2-2. In the second period the Italian built a 5-3 advantage, and in the final passage she outscored the Pole 10-3 to win 15:6.

Rizzi went on to lose the gold-medal bout 8-9 in overtime to South Korea’s Sera Song. In the men’s foil, Czech Alexander Choupenitch defeated Italy’s Filippo Macchi 15:2 in the final.

Coach’s reaction

Radosław Zawrotniak, Brych’s club coach in Krakow, underlined the scale of the surprise.

“It’s a huge surprise. Barbara has joined the very small group of Polish women who have previously won world championship medals in épée. Previously only Joanna Jakimiuk, Danuta Dmowska-Andrzejuk, and Ewa Trzebińska-Nelip had done it. Eight years of work with Basia speaks for itself.”

Zawrotniak described her as calm and focused, noting that she balances training with coaching children at the club, studying, and recently completing her bachelor’s degree. Brych, a native of Siemianowice Śląskie, grew up alongside Olympians Renata Knapik-Miazga and Aleksandra Jarecka and was a European champion at under-17 level.

Other Polish performances

The other Polish women’s épée fencers exited earlier. Alicja Klasik placed 23rd, beating Georgia’s Tamila Muridova 15:14 before losing to Hungary’s Blanka Virag Nagy 13:15. Magdalena Pawłowska finished 28th after a 10:14 loss to top-seeded Italian Alberta Santuccio, having earlier defeated Sweden’s Emma Fransson 11:10. Gloria Klughardt fell in qualifying and placed 76th.

In the men’s foil, Adam Jakubowski was the highest Polish finisher at 24th, defeating Chile’s Leopoldo Alarcon 15:12 before falling to eventual champion Choupenitch 6:15. Leszek Rajski, 42, took 28th after a 15:12 win over Germany’s Niklas Diestelkamp and an 11:15 loss to Hungary’s Gergo Szemes. Debutant Jan Nowak placed 42nd, and European vice-champion Andrzej Rządkowski was eliminated in qualifying at 82nd.

What comes next

The championships continue on Sunday with the women’s sabre and men’s épée, where world vice-champion Zuzanna Cieślar will aim for another Polish medal. Team events begin on Monday, where Brych will have a further chance to add to her tally.