Sagunto honours Club d'Esgrima Morvedre for a standout season
Mayor Darío Moreno welcomed the Club d'Esgrima Morvedre fencing club this Friday to mark a season featuring a national team bronze medal and a promotion to Spain's top sabre division.
Mateo Monfort and Xabi Ríos, fencing alongside teammates from Club de Esgrima Ágora de Valencia, took third place at the Spanish Under-13 Team Championship, held in April in Vicálvaro (Madrid). After beating Ciudad Real in the quarter-finals and losing the semi-final to defending champions Club de Esgrima Barajas, they secured bronze by defeating Leganés. Monfort also finished among the top eight in the national individual round and was runner-up in the regional league, a title his teammate Ríos won outright.
Junior fencer Sión Castañón added another milestone: with his club teammates, he earned promotion in San Sebastián to the Liga Oro Nacional (Spain's top team division) in senior men's sabre. Modern fencing has three Olympic weapons — foil, épée and sabre — formalised as a sport after duelling was abandoned in the 19th century. In sabre, Castañón's weapon, fencers score with both the tip and the edge of the blade, and any hit above the waist counts, unlike foil or épée.
The ceremony also introduced Adrián Ruiz, a former Spanish national fencing team member, as the club's new coach. The mayor said the results bring visibility to minority sports. Reported by the Sagunto City Council.