Having won gold in the men’s team épée in each of the last two Olympics in which the event was held (2004, 2008), France extended their streak to three with a win over Italy in the gold medal match Sunday afternoon.
Daniel Jerent got the French off to a good start with a 5-2 victory over Italy’s Marco Fichera, and they would lead throughout in the 45-31 victory. In seven of their nine bouts France tallied at least five touches, with Yannick Borel’s ten in a five-point victory over Enrico Garozzo in the sixth bout giving France a 30-19 lead. The French would win each of the final three bouts by scores of 5-4, thus clinching gold.
WATCH: France wins third consecutive Olympic gold in team épée
Gauthier Grumier, who took bronze in the individual épée, won two medals in Rio.
For Italy the bronze medal represents an improvement on their showing in Beijing eight years ago, where they took bronze. Taking bronze in Rio was Hungary, which defeated Ukraine 39-37 in what was a tightly contested match throughout. Each of the first two bouts ended scoreless, with the third being a 2-1 win for Hungary’s Peter Somfai over Ukraine’s Anatolii Herey.
Ukraine would be no closer than two points following the fourth bout, with a 12-11 win by Herey in the seventh bout and a 13-10 win by Bogdan Nikishin not being enough to take bronze. Among the four competitors for Hungary was Geza Emre, who took silver in the individual épée.
