Ukrainian fencer Olha Kharlan wins gold at Peru World Cup

Ukrainian athlete Olha Kharlan has won the gold medal at the Women's Sabre World Cup in Lima, Peru.

Her sixth place in the world rankings allowed the Olympic champion to start right from the main draw.

Harlan's victory in the quarterfinals over the current world champion of the Hungarian team Lisa Pustai guaranteed her the award (15:11).

However, Olha went on and defeated the American Elizabeth Tartakovsky (15:12).

The decisive fight, in which Kharlan faced Sugar Katinka Battai from Hungary, was a repeat of last year's World Cup final in Athens, Greece.

Unlike in March 2023, the new fight ended with a convincing victory for the Ukrainian athlete (15:6).

This gold became her 14th highest award and 31st medal in total at competitions of this level.

On July 27, 2023, Olha Kharlan defeated Russian athlete Anna Smirnova in the 1/32 finals of the World Fencing Championships. The match ended with a score of 15:7 in favor of the Ukrainian athlete.

Kharlan refused to shake hands with the Russian opponent, offering to "clash" with sabers instead.

According to the rules of the International Fencing Federation, a fencer's refusal to "greet" an opponent before or after a fight is punishable by disqualification.

After public outcry and criticism, the FIE suspended but did not overturn Harlan's disqualification.

Kharlan could take part in the women's team competition at the World Fencing Championships in Milan. After that, the athlete was to be suspended.

On July 28, the International Olympic Committee granted Kharlan automatic qualification for the Olympic Games.

Subsequently, the World Fencing Federation FIE announced that it would change the rules for handshakes at official competitions.