Maksym Perchuk Brings Ukraine Its First ‘Bronze’ at the 2025 Junior World Fencing Championship in Wuxi: What the Medal Means

The epée fencer's medal was Ukraine's first in 16 years in individual events at the Junior World Fencing Championship.

Maksym Perchuk finished third at the Junior World Epée Fencing Championship. The competition took place April 13 in Wuxi, China. This made the 18-year-old Kyiv native the first Ukrainian fencer to bring home a medal at the Junior World Championship in 16 years.

How the Junior World Epée Fencing Championship Went for Maksym Perchuk

• In the pool stage, the Ukrainian won five of his six bouts, losing only to South Korea's Han Jong-min. Perchuk was seeded 24th.
• The fencer began his run in the playoffs in the round of 64, where he beat Kazakhstan's Gabidin Mustafin by a six-touch margin.

• The epée fencer's next opponent was Poland's Mikolaj Adamczyk, whom Maksym beat by the same margin. In the round of 16, the Ukrainian edged Egypt's Youssef Chamekh by five points.

• In the next round, the Kyiv native beat Britain's Tristan Lamine, 15:12, and in the quarterfinal, narrowly edged out Canada's Nicholas Zhang, guaranteeing himself a medal at the tournament.

• The Ukrainian lost at the semifinal stage — to two-time world champion Mahmoud Elsayed. The Egyptian beat Maksym, 15:9. As a result, the 18-year-old epée fencer shared third place with 'neutral' athlete Nikita Gorin.

The 2025 Junior World Epée Fencing Championship was won by Egypt's Mahmoud Elsayed, with Italy's Matteo Galassi taking silver. Perchuk, meanwhile, refused to pose for a podium photo alongside the third-place finisher from the aggressor country.

2025 Junior World Fencing Championship Results (Junior Men, Epée)

1. Mahmoud Elsayed, Egypt
2. Matteo Galassi, Italy
3. Maksym Perchuk, Ukraine / Nikita Gorin, -

...

36. Maksym Mykytenko, Ukraine

73. Maksym Hula, Ukraine
95. Arsenii Karapysh, Ukraine

Maksym Perchuk and the other three Ukrainian epée fencers will next compete in the team event, taking place April 15.