It was difficult, but the Italian women, after 25 years, found their way back to the podium in the team epee event. Besides the silver medal won in Atlanta 1996, they have now won a hard-earned bronze. After the defeat in the semifinals against the very strong Estonians, Rossella Fiamingo, Federica Isola and Mara Navarria, Alberta Santuiccio beat the Chinese Team 23-21 in the final for third place.
A race that, for the first three periods, dragged on the level of balance. The Italian women took the lead in the fourth Round with Rossella Fiamingo, who scored four consecutive winning hits to stop the score at 10-7. Halfway through the competition, Mara Navarria took the floor against Zhu of China, and the advantage increased. A dry 5-1 seems to put the distance between the two teams in safety (15-8).
The advantage did not diminish in these fractions, and nearly at the last series of assaults, there was also room for Alberta Santuccio, who had started in reserve, who also brought a point in her favour and, for a naive push on her opponent, received a red card. It was Federica Isola's turn to close the score. The Milanese fencer once again had to deal with Zhu's experience. Point after point, China came closer. Finally, at 22-21, the Chinese fencer was injured with 8 seconds left. After a long manipulation of her right thigh, she recovered, and Federica scored the final blow 23-21.
