French Trevejo proves life can begin again at 40 in Fencing

Baku, June 25, AZERTAC France's Ivan Trevejo proved that life can begin again after 40 in Fencing when he won the men's individual epee at Baku 2015 to cap a remarkable international comeback in the sport. The 43-year-old, who won a silver medal for Cuba at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games but was unable to compete for nearly a decade after leaving the country in 2002, defeated 28-year-old Russian Sergey Khodos in 15-8 in the final. The older fencer, who did not return to international competition until 2011 after he gained French citizenship the previous year, was as physically fit as all his younger opponents during a tough day of competition. "I think my experience counted a lot," he said. "I felt I played well from the start and my tactics worked. This is a great reward for all the support the French federation have given me and for all the support of the team. "I want to try to keep going until the Rio Olympics next year and then we will see." Trevejo, who also won a bronze medal in the team event at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, had reached the final with a straightforward 15-10 semi-final defeat of compatriot Daniel Jerent, who took the bronze medals together with Norway's Bartosz Piasecki. In the women's foil, Italy's Alice Volpi won her first major title by beating Russian Yana Alborova 15-11 in the final. "I feel tired now, but very happy. Finally I was able to win the gold after many second and third places (on the World Cup circuit). I've waited long for this," the 23-year-old said. Adelina Zagidullina of Russia and Valentina Cipriani of Italy took the bronze medals.