Olympic Games: Fencer Szabo fails dramatically in front of dream crowd

Sabre fencer Matyas Szabo missed out on the medal he was hoping for at the Olympic Games in Paris. The 32-year-old lost his quarterfinal against top-seeded Egyptian Ziad Elsissy in dramatic fashion 14:15 in front of the impressive backdrop of the Grand Palais. Before that, he had confidently defeated Yousef Alshamlan from Kuwait (15:6) and in a thriller against Frenchman Sebastien Patrice (15:13).

“He can leave the event with his head held high,” said German sports director Tobias Kirch about Szabo. “I think he has nothing to reproach himself for and gave it his all.” Kirch was visibly impressed by the atmosphere in the elegant Grand Palais. He said it underlined the high status of fencing in France.

Szabo, who won the team world championship with Germany in 2014, was taking part in the Olympics for the third time. He also relied on his extensive experience. It helped him in the thrilling round of 16 match against local hero Patrice, who was loudly cheered on by the enthusiastic crowd. But the Dormagen native was narrowly defeated by world number one and third-place finisher Elsissy.

German fencers without a medal again?

The German Fencing Association (DFeB) is thus threatened with its third Games in a row without a medal. The association, once so spoiled for success, had already come away empty-handed in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and 2021 in Tokyo. In addition to Szabo, only Anne Sauer is taking part in Paris – it is the smallest Olympic squad of the DFeB in 68 years. The Düsseldorf foil fencer will compete against Malak Hamza from Egypt on Sunday.