Kingmanaw’s own path to the final was straightforward enough but it was his opponent – refugee athlete Amelio Castro – who delivered the biggest shock of the day in the semi-finals. 

Castro shocked Great Britain’s Paralympic champion Dimitri Coutya with a narrow one-point victory to make his way into his career first gold medal match against Kingmanaw. 

There Castro had a good start, but the pair were closely matched throughout. Both fencers made mistakes and both had moments of flourish. The final score was 15-12. 

“It’s very important because I was waiting for this one,” Kingmanaw said. “I just relaxed and had fun, just fenced.” 

Ukraine’s Oleg Naumenko and Coutya took the two bronzes on offer. 

Italy’s Andreea Mogos won her second medal in 24 hours in the women’s sabre category B. 

The sabre is not Mogos’s usual choice at a World Cup, normally opting to focus on the foil in which she claimed gold on Friday (20 February). But her win against teammate Sofia Brunati indicates a growing competency in the weapon after a bronze medal in 2025. 

Brunati meanwhile was competing in her first final and her silver medal represents a big step-up for the 25-year-old, which is also her maiden podium appearance. 

Ukraine’s Olena Fedota-Isaieva was once again in the World Cup top three with bronze. Poland’s Karolina Strawinska repeated her performance from last year’s competition in Pisa with the other third-place finish. 

Poland’s King Drozdz showed why she is the reigning Paralympic medallist in the women’s sabre category A, winning her seventh gold in Pisa having claimed her first in 2019. Drozdz took on Georgia’s Nina Tibilashvili in the final and fenced to a 15-10 victory. 

“It wasn’t an easy match because first of all Nina is my best friend like a sister and it was a tough match because we fenced a lot with each other because we train together so it’s always tough. 

“I stayed focused and tried to focus all of the match but it’s not easy. I’m happy to win. Pisa is my lucky place – it is my seventh gold, so I really love this place.” 

Ukraine’s Nataliya Morkvych and Georgia’s Gvantsa Zadishvili picked up their latest World Cup medals with bronze. 

Returning to the World Cup stage for the first time since 2024 due to injury, and after missing out on a medal at the World Championships in 2025, Great Britain’s Paris 2024 silver medallist Piers Gilliver showed he still has what it takes to challenge for gold in the men’s epee category A. 

Gilliver faced Neutral Para Athlete Maxim Shaburov for gold, and all was going well until Shaburov managed to level the score just before the break at 9-9. Unfortunately for Gilliver, Shaburov was able to carry that energy through to the restart where he edged away for a 15-12 win. 

“It’s not my first match with Gilliver so I know I needed all my power and concentration until the end, but until the end I should be concentrating and concentrating and concentrating,” Shaburov said. 

Iraq’s Zainulabdeen Al-Madhkhoori and Neutral Para Athlete Artur Yusopov were the bronze medallists. 

The Pisa 2026 Para Fencing World Cup concludes on Sunday (22 February) with team events in men’s foil and women’s sabre and foil. Teams will fence to a new, innovative 30-point team format designed to make the team events even more exciting and dynamic.