Ukraine's Kharlan wins sabre bronze
- Published
Ukraine's four-time world champion Olga Kharlan has beaten South Korea's Sebin Choi to win bronze in the women's sabre individual.
It is her fifth Olympic medal, following team gold and silver in 2008 and 2012 respectively, plus individual bronzes in 2012 and 2016.
But Kharlan very nearly didn't compete in Paris.
She was front page news after she was disqualified from the World Championships in 2023 for offering to tap blades instead of shaking hands with Russia’s Anna Smirnova. After a backlash, the International Fencing Federation reinstated her which allowed her to take part in the team competition.
IOC president Thomas Bach (a former fencer), wrote her a letter saying he would "allocate an additional quota place" to her if she could not qualify because of her "unique situation".