Fence fencer Yannick Borel settles for silver after one-sided final

The French fencer failed to win another Olympic title on Sunday, eight years after the team gold in Rio.

No individual consecration for Yannick Borel. At 35, the French fencer did not manage to grab the last individual title missing from his list of achievements, that of Olympic champion, beaten in the épée final at the Grand Palais (15-9), Sunday July 28.

After a day in which he had gained momentum, Yannick Borel fell on the last step against the Japanese Koki Kano, who is ahead of him in the world rankings (3rd and 4th). The last French representative since the quarter-finals, the fencer still won a nice silver medal, the fourth trinket for the French delegation this Sunday after the gold of Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt in mountain biking, that of Léon Marchand in the 400 m medley, and the bronze of Amandine Buchard in judo.

In a heated atmosphere carried by a crowd that celebrated each of his points and rushed to give voice to each strong moment, the native of Pointe-à-Pitre did not manage to weigh on his final. Quickly led by two touches, he always ran behind the score, facing a very effective Koki Kano, and often sailed three or four touches behind. Yet on the offensive, he rarely managed to touch his opponent without exposing himself, and ended up giving up a one-sided match.

The last representative of the men’s épée since the quarter-finals, Yannick Borel had nevertheless given himself the means all day to push his Olympic dream to the end. At the Grand Palais, in front of a melting crowd, he went through all the emotions before finding himself with the silver around his neck. Shaken during his first round (15-13), He was then pushed to sudden death in the quarter-finals (12-11) before calmly beating the Egyptian Mohamed El-Sayed (15-9), the executioner who had knocked him out in the first round in Tokyo. He will have the opportunity to win a new medal in the team tournament on Wednesday.