Nineteen-year-old Ukrainian épée fencer Anna Maksymenko finished second at the 2026/27 Fencing World Cup event in Casablanca. She lost the women’s individual final to Italy’s Roberta Marzani by the narrowest of margins, 14–15, Ukrinform reported.
It is Maksymenko’s first individual senior medal and Ukraine’s first medal of the new season. Her only previous World Cup medal was a team silver in Vancouver in 2024.
On her way to the final, she beat 2013 world champion Julia Beljajeva of Estonia (15–12), Italy’s Federica Isola, an Olympic team bronze medallist from 2020 (15–5), and two Russian fencers, Anastasiya Rustamova (15–10) and 2025 European champion Aizanat Murtazaeva (15–12). Maksymenko is coached by Andrii Orlikovskyi and Zoriana Semeriak.
The Casablanca event
The men’s and women’s épée World Cup took place on 15–18 October at the Mohammed V Indoor Hall in Casablanca, with the individual events on 17 October. It was organised by the Royal Moroccan Fencing Federation, which expected athletes from more than 90 countries, Morocco World News reported. Last year a similar event was held in Marrakech.
