Lucas Malcotti has made history by becoming the first Swiss fencer to win an individual gold medal at a World Championships. The 31-year-old from Wallis Canton is the first Swiss to achieve this feat, with Anja Straub being the only other Swiss success in women's events back in 1989.
In the final, Malcotti secured a narrow victory over Italian Davide Di Veroli by a score of 12:11. He had already made an early surprise in the eighth-finals when he defeated Hungary’s Gergely Siklosi with a score of 15:11.
Malcotti also had to go into extra time twice more, overcoming Russian Dimitri Schwelidse in the quarter-finals and semi-finals by scores of 12:11. He narrowly beat the surprise finalist Khalifah Alomairi from Saudi Arabia with a score of 13:12.
After his victory, Malcotti said that luck was on his side during the competition. He had not had time to think about winning as he battled through an injury before the World Championships. Now looking ahead, Malcotti aims for more success in the team event, where he and his teammates will compete again on Wednesday in Hong Kong. With this win, he hopes to secure three tickets for Switzerland's Olympic team for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
