Kazakhstan tops FIE men’s team épée world rankings for the first time
The Kazakhstan men’s épée team has reached the No. 1 spot in the International Fencing Federation (FIE) World Rankings for the first time in the country’s history, Qazinform News Agency reports.
The historic milestone follows a run of international titles over the past twelve months, culminating in a gold-medal performance at the 2026/27 FIE World Cup season opener in Casablanca, Morocco.
Kazakhstan's rise to the top of the FIE rankings caps an impressive winning streak. The team secured consecutive gold medals: at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in November 2025; the Asian Fencing Championships in New Delhi, India, in June 2026; the World Fencing Championships in Hong Kong in July; and the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, in September.
Long dominated by traditional fencing powerhouses such as France, Italy, Hungary, and Switzerland, as well as Asian heavyweights Japan and South Korea, the men’s team épée rankings are now led by Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan arrived in Casablanca ranked third behind Switzerland and France, but its victory at the Moroccan event pushed the squad past both rivals to take the No. 1 spot.
Kazakhstan achieved the top ranking with a revised lineup featuring Kirill Prokhodov, Vadim Sharlaimov, Alexandr Fedotov, and Kirill Pavlov. En route to the title, the squad defeated France — a 23-time world champion in men's team épée.
Qazinform reported earlier that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev congratulated Kazakhstan’s men’s épée fencing team on their triumph in Morocco.