Tokyo 2020 Fencing Podcast

Bash and Dave recap the rollercoaster that was the Kazan World Cup and discover who has qualified for the Olympic GamesSupport the show

Bash and Dave review the results at the final Sabre Olympic qualifier in Budapest. Who has qualified for the Games?Support the show

As you all know, we have one competition remaining for the Olympic Qualification. These are now scheduled to be in:Sabre World Cups (men and women): Budapest (HUN), 10-14 MarchEpée World Cups (men and women): Kazan (RUS), 19-23 MarchFoil Grand Prix (men and women): Doha (QAT), 26-28 MarchBash and Dave talk through the implications of this news.Link to the FIE website:https://static.fie.org/.../124703-lettre%20info%201-21...Support the show

Following an update from the FIE on the return to fencing, Bash and Dave discuss what this new world might look like.Support the show

As the Covid-19 outbreak continues Bash interviews Alessandro from the Italian Fencing Federation and Greg Massialas from US Fencing for Dave to dissect.  Greg's interview was recorded on Skype so has some sound issues.  Enjoy and stay safe!Support the show

In the wake of global lockdowns and cancellations due to the spread of Covid-19, Karim and Dave turn to their fencing friends. We speak with Frances Chow (PhD molecular biologist, founder of Sydney Sabre fencing club, and online trendsetter) and Benedict Chambers (immunologist researcher at the Karolinska Institutet, international fencer, and former President of the FIE Athletes Commission).Note: this was recorded before the announcement of the one-year postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.Support the show

The FIE has made the tough decision to suspend international tournaments globally because of the Covid-19 Pandemic for 30 days.  Dave and Bash talk through the details of the suspension including which events are postponed and talk about the possible outcomes for Olympic Qualification plus what you can do to protect yourself and others.Support the show

Dave and Bash discuss the individual Epee Grand Prix event in Hungary with just one more qualifier to go in both the men's and women's disciplines.  Want to find out who has qualified now and who needs to wait until the last event?  This is this only place to find out!Support the show (http://patreon.com/FencingTokyo)Support the show

Dave and Bash discuss the penultimate Women's Sabre Olympic qualifier in Greece.  Teams and individuals went in unsure of qualification.  How do things stand now?  Have a listen to find out!Support the show (http://patreon.com/FencingTokyo)Support the show

Dave and Bash discuss the penultimate Men's Sabre qualifier that played venue musical chairs before being hosted in Luxembourg.  Find out who has qualified and which teams and fencers who will still be chasing qualification in Budapest 20-22 March!  Lots still to play for!Support the show (http://patreon.com/FencingTokyo)Support the show

Dave and Bash confirm the team qualifiers for Women's Foil.  Who faced heartbreak and who basked in the joy of qualification?  The only way to find out is by listening to this enthralling episode. And is there a tie-breaker question for Europe ahead of the last individual qualifier?!Support the show

Dave and Bash discuss the final team qualifier for Men's Foil and what a weekend it was in Cairo.  The Russian team and Spain's Carlos Llavador making the moves in terms of qualification.  Listen to find out who's in and who's out.  One more individual qualifier to go and the EU and AS race is still on!Support the show

Two more events to go after this one but what a performance from France to shake things up.  Dave and Bash discuss the Olympic qualification scenario for both teams and individual chances.Support the show

Dave Baker and Karim Bashir preview the last team qualifiers in Men's and Women's Foil in Cairo and Kazan.  Who will qualify by team for Tokyo 2020 team foil?Support the show

In the Women's event,  Leonie Ebert (GER) extended her lead with a top 16 finish. Maria Diaz (ESP) stays in the second European place without scoring any points - Julia Walczyk (POL) has cut the gap to 3 points with a top 32 result. Nicole Pustilnik (ISR) is still in contention but is getting harder.Chen Qingyuan (CHN) moved further away from Algiers silver medallist Shi Yue (CHN) with a top 32 finish. Otherwise no real changes ahead of the final world cup in Kazan and the final GP in Anaheim.For the Men, Marcus Mepstead (GBR) continues on his path to Tokyo, a top 16 result extended the gap away from the chasing Europeans. Benjamin Kleibrink (GER) made the 32, but only Alexander Choupenitch (CZE) could match it. Carlos Llavador (ESP) and Michał Siess (POL) went out in the 64.Otherwise all looks quite stable - unless the teams change. We'll see in Cairo next weekend!Support the show

What a day in Barcelona – and sets the season up nicely now that we’ve finished 4 out of the 5 world cups.Let’s start with the easy stuff. Korea won and are qualified – they cannot be caught by Hong Kong. China are qualified and confirmed in the top 4 – alongside Russia and Poland. Italy and USA are also qualified – they can’t be caught. Congratulations to all 6 teams that we know are qualified.That leaves 2 spaces. USA had a good day – winning bronze, bringing Canada back into the qualification places. Canada did enough, making the top 16. That final top 4 space is available for two teams: Korea and Italy.Korea need to finish 1 or 2 to take the place, USA could maintain it by finishing 2 or 4 respectively. Another Asian team in the top 4 would open up the door for Hong Kong.Italy can overtake the USA by winning in Tashkent. If Italy finish 4/3/2, USA need to finish 6/4/1 to maintain their place. If Italy make the top 4, then Estonia are first in line to take the zonal place, leaving an extra (European) place for the taking.The Extra Place is now very interesting. Egypt did very well – beating Japan in the 32 and are now only one point away. If they win their first match in Tashkent I think they are qualified. But let’s talk about the scenario if it doesn’t happen and if it goes to a European team.Even though Ukraine are lower than France, they are better positioned because of their worst place (which was today vs Sweden!). If Ukraine finish first they will overtake Estonia, otherwise if they finish 2/3/4, Estonia need to finish 1/7/9. France need a gold or silver medal to catch Estonia, Estonia can maintain their place with 2nd or 4th respectively.After a couple of tough competitions, a good result by Vivian Kong 江旻憓 (HKG) showed why she’s the best Asian fencer outside of China. Nathalie Moellhausen (BRA) returned from a hand injury to finish inside the top 16.Ukraine dropping out of the team place means there is no room for Olena Kryvytska (UKR). She’s 5 points behind Coraline Vitalis (FRA) – plus the 4 points needed to improve her 5th best result.The biggest move was for the second Asian place. Sato Nozomi (JPN) moved further ahead of Yoshimura Miho (JPN), although the gap is only 4.25 points.A GP and a World Cup to go. Next stop Budapest!Support the show

What a weekend of epee. Lets get the easy ones out of the way. France are qualified in pole position. Italy are qualified – they can’t be caught by the multiple European teams needed to beat them. Likewise USA are qualified as the best PanAm team. Interestingly Switzerland are not yet qualified – there are scenarios for the last World Cup in Buenos Aires which could knock them out if they do badly (e.g. 1. HUN, 2. KOR, 3. UKR).Korea winning in Vancouver has really shaken this table up. Please remember that the “4th” column (the worst world cup result) is the most important number here. Because we only count 4/5 results, teams need to improve on their worst result to change their score. Korea’s worst result was only a last 32 in Heidenheim, so they have the opportunity to score a huge amount of points compared with the teams around them.For example, Korea could move into the top 4 (replacing Ukraine) by finishing 16th! If Korea finish 8th, Ukraine would have to finish 4th to maintain their top 4 place. This has huge implications for both Hungary and Russia – and throws a lifeline to China, who had a tough day after losing to Korea by one hit in the last 16. Small margins…Speaking of Russia and Hungary, Hungary have a 3 point lead but also 3 points extra in their 4th result, so it’s very even. Remember that Hungary would win any tiebreak due to their gold medal in Heidenheim. If Korea make the top 4 then I don’t think either will qualify without a big result.Similarly, Japan is close to China, but China has a material advantage with their 4th result being a last 32 finish in Paris.And then we need to talk about Egypt. They’re doing everything they need to do – making last 16’s and sometimes winning more matches. But they’re not safe. They can be overtaken by Spain/Estonia/Germany (and maybe Poland) – realistically all 3 of those teams need good results in Buenos Aires to knock Egypt out of the top 16 and open up an Extra Place.In the individuals, a win by Bas Verwijlen (NED) moves him comfortably into the second European place. The possibility that neither Russia or Hungary (or Ukraine!) qualify in the teams is still a concern though.Ruslan Kurbanov (KAZ) benefits from Korea moving into the qualification places – Park Sangyoung (KOR) doesn’t need an individual place.Better days in Vancouver for the Japanese team, but Yamada Masaru (JPN) is a long way ahead.Next is Budapest, then it’s all finished in Buenos Aires.Support the show

Another medal for Sergey Bida (RUS), this time gold, moves him to the top of the rankings. Not yet mathematically qualified - but very close.The most important result for the rankings was a superb 5th place result from Bas Verwijlen (NED). Bas moves ahead of Radoslaw Zawrotniak (POL) for the second European place.A bronze medal to Yamada Masuru (JPN) confirms he is the best of the Japanese fencers - I suspect they'll use host nation places though.The Doha winner in the Women's event, Ana Maria Popescu (ROU), is world number 1 and top of the rankings. She’s not mathematically qualified yet – but that’s not far away.A tough match for Vivian Kong (HKG) in the 64, losing to 2013 world champion and 2017 team world champion Julia Beljajeva (EST).Marie-Florence Candassamy (FRA) closed the gap slightly with Coraline Vitalis (FRA) – but still has a long way to go.The two Japanese frontrunners matched results with a last-64 finish. No change there with three competitions to go.Support the show

Olga Kharlan (UKR) wins her second GP of the season to move well ahead at the top of the rankings. Theodora Gkountoura (GRE) has closed the gap to Bianca Pascu (ROU) to only 2 points after a top-32 finish. Pascu lost in the 64.Tamura Norika (JPN) extended her lead for the first Asian place with a top-32 finish. Emura Misaki (JPN) finished in the 64.With no more Grand Prix left in Sabre, there are limited opportunities to score material points. Gabriella Page (CAN) looks to have enough of a gap over Maria Belen Perez Maurice (ARG). Likewise Bhavani Devi (IND) is looking good for qualification - assuming the teams stay the sameIn the men's event, Bolade Apithy (FRA) wins his second GP of the season, and Sandro Bazadze (GEO) took bronze to move well ahead of all European rivalsA great day for Joseph Polossifakis (CAN), finishing in the top 32, but surely he is too far behind Shaul Gordon (CAN)?Xu Yingming (CHN) closed the gap on Wang Shi (CHN) to only 5 points for the first Asian place. The second Asian place continues to be very interesting. Yoshida Kento (JPN) has a 1.75 point lead over Vu Thanh An (VIE), 4.5 point lead over Kaito Streets (JPN), and a 5.5 point lead over Yousef Alshamlan (KUW). This could be very close.Support the show

Another Men’s Foil World Cup, another win for the USA team. But most importantly, 4 out of 5 events are done for Men’s Foil and we have a good idea of what the qualification places look like. Remember, you only count your best 4 World Cup results, so to improve your score at the last event you need to beat your 4th best result – I have included a column to show what that is for each team.Russia needs 3rd to overtake Hong Kong, and take the final top 4 place. This would obviously be very positive for Germany, who would then take the European Zonal place. If Hong Kong finish 4th, Russia would need silver. A strong Korea result would also spoil German hopes.If Russia don’t win a medal, then Germany would need to win the final world cup to have a chance of qualification (244 – 203 + 20 = 64). If Russia finish 6th or better they are mathematically qualified. It also leaves a glimmer of hope for Great Britain, who would need a gold or silver medal, Russia to win a medal, and both Hong Kong and Korea to underperform.Japan also need to win the last world cup to overtake Korea (250 – 215 + 19 = 54) or Hong Kong. I suspect they’ll use their zonal places though. China could also overtake Korea with a win (250 – 209 + 23 = 64).Brazil need to finish 4th to overtake Canada. The Canadian team will be happy with another top 16 finish, which gives them some safety in the rankings.Marcus Mepstead (GBR) inched further ahead with a top 32 results, but his 5th result of 3 points means he'll now have to get deep into the tableau if he wants to improve.Alexander Choupinitch (CZE) closed the gap to Benjamin Kleibrink (GER) with a strong 8th place finish. He's now only 8 points behind (plus 3).Neither Carlos Llavador (ESP) or Michael Siess (POL) could make it to the second day.Otherwise it's all quite stable in Men's Foil - although we still have two Grand Prix left to go!Support the show