France have won the one Olympic men's fencing title that proved elusive until now when they defeated Italy 45-42 in the team sabre this evening.
Damien Touya, who earlier had his right hand sliced in a close semi-final against the United States, came from behind in the last round against Luigi Tarantino to snatch the gold.
His team mates, Touya's brother Gael and Julien Pillet, also contributed to the drama but Italian Aldo Montano, who won the individual men's sabre, was again the outstanding performer, contributing 23 points to his team's total.
Russia took the bronze after Stanislav Pozdniakov won 10 points in the final round to give them a 45-44 victory over the United States.
Filed by Johnny Proby
