by InTrieste
Regina Lee of the United States claimed gold on Sunday at the Women’s Under-20 Epee World Cup in Udine, defeating China’s Xinyao Li in a final that capped three days of international competition and brought together some of the sport’s most promising young athletes.
The event, now in its 20th edition, drew 239 fencers from 40 countries to the PalaIndoor Ovidio Bernes, reaffirming the northeastern Italian city’s long-standing place on the junior fencing calendar. For Friuli Venezia Giulia, the host region, the tournament has become both a sporting fixture and a platform for broader ambitions that extend well beyond the piste.
Mario Anzil, the region’s vice governor and councillor for sport, attended the decisive day of competition, describing the World Cup as “a showcase not only of athletic excellence, but of values that go beyond competition — environmental sustainability, inclusion and support for health.”
Lee’s victory came in a field that included some of the strongest names on the junior circuit. Among them were Blanka Nagy of Hungary, the reigning world vice-champion; Leehi Machulsky of the United States, currently third in the world rankings and winner of the most recent World Cup stage in Burgos, Spain; and Ukraine’s Anna Maksymenko, last year’s champion in Udine and ranked fourth internationally. Italy, as host nation, fielded a delegation of 20 fencers.
The Under-20 World Cup in Friuli Venezia Giulia began in 2005 in the seaside town of Lignano Sabbiadoro and has been based in Udine since 2013, moving between the PalaIndoor and the Udine trade fair complex before returning this year to its original indoor arena. The competition will conclude on Monday with the team event, featuring 22 national squads.
In recent years, the organizers have increasingly framed the tournament as a model for environmentally responsible sports events. Last year’s edition was the first in fencing history to be certified carbon-neutral, a milestone achieved through measures including recycling programs, the elimination of single-use plastics, refillable water bottles for athletes, water stations, and the use of locally sourced food. For 2025, the organizing committee is aiming to secure ISO 20121 certification, an international standard for sustainable event management.
“This competition is also supported by the regional department for environmental protection,” Anzil said, “because it represents a virtuous model of sustainable organization. We are proud to present to all the federations here an event that brings together sport, environmental awareness and social responsibility.”
Alongside the fencing, Udine also hosted the first national conference of “Nastro Rosa – Fencing Helps to Win,” a project promoted by the Italian Fencing Federation in collaboration with Andos, the national association supporting women who have undergone breast cancer surgery. The initiative focuses on rehabilitation through fencing, and more than 50 women from across Italy took part, including a demonstration on the finals piste.
For the organizers, the combination of high-level international sport and community-focused initiatives has become part of the event’s identity. As the final medals were awarded and teams prepared for Monday’s competition, the message from Udine was clear: youth fencing, here, is being used not only to crown champions, but also to advance a broader vision of what sport can do.
