On December 14, the Junior Fencing World Cup in épée took place in Burgos, Spain, gathering 224 participants from 31 countries. Ukrainian athlete Anna Maksymenko claimed victory in the individual competition.
On her way to the semifinals, Maksymenko defeated six opponents:
- Mihaela Stefanova (Bulgaria) – 15:11,
- Mizuki Homma (Japan) – 15:6,
- Farah Mahfouz (Egypt) – 15:8,
- Asia Vitale (Italy) – 15:11,
- Liliana Porwol (Poland) – 15:12,
- Felicity Sebastian (USA) – 15:11.
In the semifinals, she outperformed Polish épéeist Cecylia Cieslik with a score of 15:13. In the final match, Maksymenko confidently defeated Greta Gachali from Hungary, a multiple medalist of European Championships among cadets and juniors, with a score of 15:7.
This victory marks Anna’s third career medal at the Junior World Cup stages. Earlier in the 2023/24 season, she won gold in Laupheim and bronze in Tbilisi.
In the team competition, Ukraine, represented by Emili Konrad, Alina Dmytruk, Anna Maksymenko, and Oleksandra Romanova, finished in sixth place.
Anna Maksymenko trains at the “Atlet” Youth Sports School and represents the Regional “School of Higher Sports Mastery.” She is coached by Ukraine’s honored trainers Andriy Orlikovsky, Zoryana Semeryak, and Dina Panteleeva.