Myroniuk brings home Ukraine’s second rapier fencing medal as European vice-champion

Ukraine secured its second medal at the European Fencing Championships in the women's singles rapier event, with Daria Myroniuk taking home the silver at Euro 2024.

"Suspilne. Sport" reports this.

It's worth noting that the last time a Ukrainian fencer received an award in this category was 17 years ago.

Ukrainian fencers Poloziuk and Myroniuk faced off in the Ukrainian derby during the quarter-finals, ultimately securing a semi-final spot. As a result, Ukraine secured a "bronze" in rapier fencing, securing its place in the semi-finals.

The tense battle between the Ukrainian female competitors resulted in a close match. Nonetheless, Myroniuk successfully secured a spot in the European Championship semifinals with a final score of 15:13.

^{Photo: Eva Pavía #BizziTeam}

In the semi-final round, the Ukrainian competitor went head to head with Yulia Walczyk-Klimaszyk from Poland, the reigning champion of the 2023 European Games. The Ukrainian athlete managed to defeat her Polish opponent with a score of 15-11, earning her a spot in the finals of the European Championship for the first time in her career.

Myroniuk faced Italian fencer Arriana Errigo in a crucial match and came close to taking the gold. The Ukrainian athlete dominated the first half of the final, defeating Errigo by four points (9:5).

^{Photo: Augusto Bizzi}

However, Myroniuk was still unable to secure the "gold." Errigo managed to change the momentum of the match, and ultimately, the Ukrainian lost in the final with a score of 10-15, earning the title of silver medalist at the European Championship.

It is worth mentioning that this marks Ukraine's first medal at Euro-2024 in fencing. Before this, Vlada Kharkova's fifth-place finish in the singles fencing event was the highest.

^{Photo: Augusto Bizzi}

The continental championship is held in Basel, Switzerland. Ukraine was represented at this stage by four rapier fencers:

• Alina Poloziuk,
• Daria Myroniuk,
• Olha Sopit,
• Kateryna Budenko.

Two Ukrainian women have reached the quarter-finals:

• Poloziuk defeated the reigning world champion, Italian fencer Alice Volpi (15:14),
• while Myroniuk beat Austrian competitor Olivia Wolgemuth (15:11).

For reference:

Myroniuk is a 22-year-old fencer who specializes in rapier and is currently Ukraine's rapier fencing champion.

The fencer is also the champion of Youth Euro 2024, which took place in Antalya. She claimed the "gold" by defeating Hungary's representative, Yazmin Papp, with a score of 15:6.

Additionally, the athlete co-authored the historic bronze medal win for the team at the 2024 World Cup in Hong Kong.

Overall, Daria is the sixth fencer in Ukraine's history to achieve a personal "gold" at the U23 European Championship, and she is the second rapier to do so after Olha Sopit.

Moreover, Ukrainian swimmer Oleksandr Zheltiakov won the first gold medal in the history of Ukraine at the 2024 European Aquatics Championship for overcoming the distance of 200 meters on the backstroke.

It should be noted that the Ukrainian high jump champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh defended her championship status at the European Championships in Rome, which she won for the first time in 2022.

It was also reported that in the final of the Golden Euroleague-2024, the Ukrainian volleyball team defeated the Croatian national team.