A handshake is a globally widespread, brief greeting or parting tradition in which two people grasp one of each other's like hands, in most cases accompanied by a brief up-and-down movement of the grasped hands. Customs surrounding handshakes are specific to cultures. Different cultures may be more or less likely to shake hands, or there may be different customs about how or when to shake hands.
The Fédération Internationale d'Escrime, commonly known by the acronym FIE, is the international governing body of Olympic fencing. Today, its head office is at the Maison du Sport International in Lausanne, Switzerland. The FIE is composed of 155 national federations, each of which is recognized by its country's Olympic Committee as the sole representative of Olympic-style fencing in that country.
The United States Fencing Association (USFA) is the national governing body for the sport of fencing in the United States. The USFA was founded in 1891 as the Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) by a group of New York fencers seeking independence from the Amateur Athletic Union. The AFLA changed its name to the United States Fencing Association in 1981.
The World Fencing Championships is an annual competition in fencing organized by the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime. Contestants may participate in foil, épée, and sabre events.
Olha Hennadiivna Kharlan is a Ukrainian sabre fencer. She is a four-time individual women’s world sabre champion, and a four-time Olympic medalist. She has been ranked #1 in the world in women's sabre for five years: in 2012–14, 2017–18, and 2019–21.
Thomas Bach is a German lawyer, former Olympic foil fencer and gold medalist. He has been serving as the ninth and current president of the International Olympic Committee since 10 September 2013, the first ever Olympic champion to be elected for that position. Bach is also a former member of the German Olympic Sports Confederation's executive board.
The European Fencing Confederation is an international body created in 1991, charged with the promotion and development of fencing in Europe. It organises the European Fencing Championships annually at several levels: cadets (U17), junior (U20), under 23, seniors and veterans.
Stanislav Alekseyevich Pozdnyakov is the Russian president of the Russian Olympic Committee. He is a former fencer, five-time Olympian (1992–2008), and five-time Olympic medalist in individual and team sabre competitions. He was also a ten-time individual and team world champion, in 1994–2007. In 2022, he was removed from his position as European Fencing Confederation (EFC) President at an Extraordinary Congress following a unanimous vote of no confidence in Pozdnyakov, due to his conduct in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The European Fencing Championships is an annual top-level European fencing competition organized by the European Fencing Confederation.
Sofiya Aleksandrovna Velikaya is a Russian sabre fencer.
Kim Jung-hwan is a South Korean right-handed sabre fencer.
Gu Bon-gil is a South Korean right-handed sabre fencer.
Áron Szilágyi is a Hungarian right-handed sabre fencer.
Rossella Fiamingo is an Italian left-handed épée fencer and two-time individual world champion. A three-time Olympian, Fiamingo is a 2021 team Olympic bronze medalist and 2016 individual Olympic silver medalist.
Nathalie Moellhausen is an épée fencer who initially represented Italy and now represents Brazil. In 2019, she became her country's first-ever individual World Champion in épée at the Championships held in Budapest, Hungary. With the Italy team, she won the team World championship in 2009 and team European championship in 2007. Representing Brazil, she won the women's individual épée World Champion title in 2019 in Budapest, Hungary.
The 44th FIE Fencing World Cup began in October 2014 and concluded in July 2015 at the 2015 World Fencing Championships held in Moscow.
Daniele Garozzo is an Italian right-handed foil fencer.
Despina Georgiadou is a Greek sabre fencer. She won the silver medal in the women's sabre event at the 2023 World Fencing Championships held in Milan, Italy. Previously, she had won one of the bronze medals in the women's sabre event at the 2022 World Fencing Championships held in Cairo, Egypt. She won a silver medal in World Cup 2022 in Hammamet, Tunisia and a gold medal in World Cup 2023 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. She has also won the gold medal in the Grand Prix of Orléans, France, 2021, the bronze medal in the Grand Prix of Orléans, France, 2022, and the gold medal in the Grand Prix of Tunis, Tunisia, 2023. She has reached a highest end-of-season ranking No 3 in sabre in 2021/2022 season and a highest ranking No 2 in March 2023. The latter is the highest ranking ever reached by a Greek fencer.
Mykhailo Mykhailovych Podolyak is a Ukrainian politician, journalist and negotiator, serving as the adviser to the head of Office of the President of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Fencing Federation commonly known by the acronym NFFU, established in 1992, is the governing body of Ukrainian fencing. Through 2022, Ukrainian fencers won 230 medals combined in the Olympic Games, World championships, and European championships.
