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Seeded as the 10^th highest ranked fencer entering the competition, Cortini had a shaky start to the day with 4 wins and 2 losses in the preliminary pool round. The 0.67 index rewarded him with a 29^th rank in the direct elimination and a BYE into the round of 64, where he beat Marc Arthur Pohl (GER) 15-10. He then went on to defeat 4^th-ranked Maksym Perchuk (UKR) 15-13 in the round of 32, followed by a 15-11 victory over Cengizhan Oner (TUR) and Juliano Nicola Squieri (SUI) 15-14 to secure a spot in the medal round. The opponent in the semifinal was Domonkos Pelle (HUN) who was ranked first after the poules. Cortini’s fencing stayed sharp and he won 15-12 to advance to the final.

From the other side of the draw came Szymon Wojciechowski (POL) who had beaten Noam Duchene (FRA) 15-13 and Alon Sarid (ISR) to advance to the final and guarantee himself at least a silver medal.

The final was initially an even affair as the fencers followed each other to 5-5, but Cortini pulled away and ended the period with a 10-7 lead. The second period went off to a flying start as Wojciechowski began to press Cortini to the back line. The Italian proved strong in defense, however, and extended the lead to 14-8. The Polish fencers did not give up and brought back a few touches, but a final double-hit sealed the deal for Cortini who won the fight 15-12 to claim the first gold medal of the championship.

Complete and official results for the event may be found here: fencing live results

The competition is stream on livestreaming: Tallinn livestreaming

Below full press release:

Men's epee press release