MADRID, 3 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish fencer Lucía Martín-Portugués has mathematically qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, after winning the silver medal in the saber modality on Saturday in the World Cup event held in Athens, and will be the first representative Spanish women’s fencing in the Games since Beijing 2008.
After getting on the podium on Saturday in the individual event, the Saber from Madrid had to wait for the team event this Sunday to find out if her ticket was certified by ranking for the Olympic event, for which she had to wait for the gold medal in Ukraine.
Finally, the Ukrainians complied, and Olga Kharlan, a direct rival of the Spanish – and with whom the place in the World Cup in Belgium would have been at stake if her country had not won – managed to qualify directly for Paris. The early elimination of her other great opponent, the Bulgarian Yoana Ilieva, makes it impossible for her to surpass Martín-Portugués in the ranking in Belgium.
In this way, the Madrid native will become the first Spanish shooter in an Olympic event since Beijing 2008, when her national team partner Araceli Navarro achieved it. In fact, the two, along with Celia Pérez and María Ventura, can still get a team place in saber for Paris, after being sixth in Athens; They will risk everything on Belgian soil.
On Saturday, Martín-Portugués, who had already been on the podium this season in Tunisia, won the silver medal in the Greek event after losing in the final against the French Sara Balzer, number one in the world ranking and Olympic silver in Tokyo .
The Spaniard began her career in Athens by going directly to the main board, thanks to her position in the ranking; She was joined by Araceli Navarro and Celia Pérez, who had qualified the previous day.
In the round of 16, Martín-Portugués won the fratricidal duel against Pérez, while Araceli Navarro was defeated in a very tight round, 15-13, by the French Manon Apithy-Brunet, world number 4 and double Olympic medalist.
As the only survivor in the quarterfinals, the Madrid native played for the medals against the French Sarah Noutcha, whom she beat by a comfortable 15-9, thus securing the bronze medal. The Spanish saber fencer, in a very tough match against the Ukrainian Olga Kharlan, world number 5 and quadruple Olympic medalist, won in a great round (15-14), all before falling in the final.