Montreal will host the first Sabre Grand Prix held in Canada

By CFF • December 6, 2019

Montreal, the 06/12/2019 – For the first time in the history of Canadian fencing, Montreal will be hosting the Montreal Sabre Grand Prix 2020 at the IGA Stadium from January 10 to 12, 2020, organized by the Canadian Fencing Federation (CFF) and the International Fencing Federation (FIE).

As this will be the last major event for men and women sabre qualification for 2020 Olympic Games, about 350 sabre athletes from more than 40 foreign delegations will come to Montreal to protect or attempt to obtain one of the few places available to compete in Tokyo.

It is no coincidence that this major tournament will take place in Montreal, since there is a great tradition of high performance sabre athletes developing in the city for many years, producing several Olympians such as Banos, Gravel, Plourde, Deschênes, Sassine, Boulos, Saschenbreker, Cloutier, Ovchinnikova, Beaudry and Polossifakis.

The current generation is also very promising with Gabriella Page, quadruple medalist at the Pan American Games ; Shaul Gordon, who placed 8th at the last World Championships, and triple medalist at the Pan American Games ; Farès Arfa, three-time team medalist at the Pan American Games ; Marc Gélinas, who placed 8th at the last Pan American Championships ; as well as junior fencer, François Cauchon, bronze medalist at the Pan American Junior Games ; and Angelo Chiara, bronze medalist at the Pan American Junior Championships. They will all be in the January competition with veteran Joseph Polossifakis, who ranked 23rd at the Rio Games, and is a five-time Pan American Games medalist.

« The competition will be extremely fierce, » said Polossifakis, before adding that « All the big names of the sabre world will be in Montreal but not in Tokyo because of the very tight selection system. » « Having the chance to compete for an Olympic selection at home in front of our families and friends is a very special experience, » added Canadian leader, Gabriella Page.

This event will also serve as a unique training opportunity, as foreign delegations will be invited to take part in an international CFF training camp in the days leading up to the tournament at the National Sports Institute of Quebec, located in the Olympic Stadium.

The Grand Prix will be held at IGA Stadium Jarry Park from January 10 and will be open to the public.

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