Paris Olympics: What to know and who to watch during the fencing competition

A roadmap to follow for the fencing competition during the Paris Olympics:

Athletes to Watch

— Olga Kharlan, Ukraine: One of Ukraine’s best hopes for Olympic success against the backdrop of war, Kharlan had a unique route to the Paris Games. Kharlan was drawn against Russian fencer Anna Smirnova at last year’s world championships. Smirnova protested after Kharlan refused to shake her hand, and the Ukrainian was disqualified. The International Olympic Committee awarded Kharlan a spot in Paris anyway.

— Lee Kiefer and Gerek Meinhardt, United States: Kiefer is the reigning women’s foil gold medalist, Meinhardt is a two-time bronze medalist in men’s team foil, and together they are fencing’s power couple. Married since 2019, Kiefer and Meinhardt both put medical school at the University of Kentucky on hold to train for the Olympics but will go back next year.

— Aron Szilagyi, Hungary: Szilagyi is aiming for a record fourth title in men’s saber after winning the gold medal at the London, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo Olympics. Szilagyi hasn’t lost an individual bout at the Olympics since the 2008 Beijing Games.

Storylines to Follow

— Russian fencers won three gold medals in Tokyo but didn’t qualify any athletes for Paris. That could shake up the medal table. Top Russian fencers, including saber gold medalist Sofia Pozdniakova, were blocked from qualifying events under International Olympic Committee rules because they serve in the Russian military. Other Russians competed in some qualifiers but weren’t successful.

— Fencing is never far away from controversy, especially in fast-moving saber fights, where points can be won in a fraction of a second and much is left up to a referee’s judgement. USA Fencing opened an investigation in March into “potential bout manipulation” in saber fights after complaints that supposedly biased refereeing could have affected qualification for the Olympics. It said in April that two referees were suspended, but there was “no evidence that individual U.S. fencers were actively involved in manipulating their own bouts as athletes.”

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Key Dates

Fencing runs from July 27-Aug. 4 with at least one final every day.

Reigning Olympic Champions

— Men’s foil: Cheung Ka Long, Hong Kong.

— Men’s team foil: France.

— Men’s epee: Romain Cannone, France.

— Men’s team epee: Japan.

— Men’s saber: Aron Szilagyi, Hungary.

— Men’s team saber: South Korea.

— Women’s foil: Lee Kiefer, United States.

— Women’s team foil: ROC.

— Women’s epee: Sun Yiwen, China.

— Women’s team epee: Estonia.

— Women’s saber: Sofia Pozdniakova, ROC.

— Women’s team saber: ROC.

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AP Olympics coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Olympic Hightlights

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FILE - South Africa’s Jacques Freitag competes in the men’s high jump of the 2004 Olympic Games, in the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Friday Aug. 20, 2004. Local media is reporting that South African police have discovered the body of former high jump world champion Jacques Freitag after he went missing last month. The reports said the 42-year-old, who won the 2003 world title in Paris and competed at the 2004 Olympics, had been shot. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

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FILE - Ilona Maher of USA is tackled by Sharni Williams of Australia in a semifinal of the Rugby World Cup 7’s championship held in Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022. The main task for Maher, the breakout social media star on TikTok at the Tokyo Olympics, is winning a medal in Paris. (AP Photo/Halden Krog, File)

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FILE - Jacques Freitag of South Africa waves his national flag after he won the Men’s high jump event at the World Athletics Championships, at the Stade de France in Saint Denis, north of Paris, Monday, Aug. 25, 2003. Local media is reporting that South African police have discovered the body of former high jump world champion Jacques Freitag after he went missing last month. The reports said the 42-year-old, who won the 2003 world title in Paris and competed at the 2004 Olympics, had been shot. (AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle, File)

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Sammy Sullivan of USA in action during HSBC rugby sevens series in Singapore, on May 4, 2024. The anthem played as Army officer Sammy Sullivan stood to attention and saluted beside her U.S. rugby teammates before a gold-medal game in Hong Kong against Olympic champion New Zealand. No prizes for guessing where her mind may have drifted to: Paris in July. (AP Photo/Suhaimi Abdullah)

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USA Water Polo Women’s Senior National Team attacker Ryann Neushul, left, trains at Long Beach City College Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, in Long Beach, Calif. Following in the footsteps of two older sisters who won gold with the U.S. women’s water polo team, Ryann Neushul is making her Olympic debut in Paris this summer. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

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Iranian wrestler Iman Mahdavi, 28, practices at the Lotta Club Seggiano gym, in Pioltello , northern Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

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FILE - Steven van de Velde of the Netherlands competes during the CEV Beach Volley Nations Cup Vienna 2022 men’s semifinal game against Austria at the Red Bull Beach Arena in Vienna, Austria, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022. Van de Velde, convicted and imprisoned eight years ago for raping an underage girl in England has qualified for the Paris Olympics. (AP Photo/Florian Schroetter, File)