| 1989 World Championships in Fencing | |
|---|---|
| Dates | July 5–15 |
| Host city |  Denver, United States |
The 1989 World Fencing Championships were held in Denver, Colorado, United States from July 5 to July 15.[ citation needed ]
| 1989 World Championships in Fencing | |
|---|---|
| Dates | July 5–15 |
| Host city | Denver, United States |
The 1989 World Fencing Championships were held in Denver, Colorado, United States from July 5 to July 15.[ citation needed ]
The United States applied to organise World Fencing Championships as soon as the 1986 congress of the International Fencing Federation (FIE). They maintained their request the year after, suggesting Cleveland or Indianapolis as hosts. The latter was chosen, but withdrew three months before the event. Denver put itself forward as replacement. [1]
The competition was marred by several incidents involving the directoire technique. For instance, Bulgaria's men sabre team unknowingly arrived late at their quarter-final match against West Germany, as the official timetable had been changed along the way; the West Germans protested, and the Bulgarians were disqualified. [1]
The USSR and West Germany dominated the championships, especially in foil and sabre. Épée saw several surprises, notably the victory of Spain's Manuel Pereira, who had never placed in the Top 8 of an international tournament before, and who never reached that level again. [1] Women's épée was still a young weapon, allowed by the FIE at the 1988 World Criterium as a demonstration event. It made its first official apparition in Denver. An outsider, Switzerland's Anja Straub, prevailed over Germany's Ute Schäper and Italy's Annalisa Coltorti, while the women's team event saw the beginning of the Hungarian domination.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Soviet Union (URS) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 |  West Germany (FRG) | 2 | 5 | 2 | 9 |
| 3 |  Italy (ITA) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 |  Switzerland (SUI) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 |  Hungary (HUN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Spain (ESP) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 7 |  France (FRA) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 8 |  Poland (POL) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 |  Cuba (CUB) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (9 entries) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | |
| Event |  Gold |  Silver |  Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual Épée | Anja Straub (SUI) | Ute Schäper (FRG) | Annalisa Coltorti (ITA) |
| Individual Foil | Olga Velichko (URS) | Anja Fichtel (FRG) | Zita Funkenhauser (FRG) |
| Team Épée | Hungary Gyöngyi Szalay Mariann Horváth Marina Várkonyi Diana Eöri Zsuzsanna Szőcs | Italy Annalisa Coltorti Laura Chiesa Elisa Uga Alessandra Anglesio Laura Chiesa | Switzerland Suzanne Rompza Isabelle Pentucci Anja Straub Gianna Bürki |
| Team Foil | West Germany Anja Fichtel Sabine Bau Susanne Lang Zita Funkenhauser Anette Klug Christiane Weber | Soviet Union Olga Velichko Tatyana Sadovskaya Olga Voshchakina Yelena Grishina Yelena Glikina | Italy Francesca Bartolozzi Diana Bianchedi Giovanna Trillini Margherita Zalaffi |
| Unofficial |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Official |
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