Mara Navarria (born 18 July 1985) is an Italian right-handed
épée
The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains ...
fencer, 2018 individual world champion, two-time Olympian, and 2021 team Olympic bronze medalist.
Personal life
Navarria grew up in
Carlino
Carlino ( fur, Cjarlins) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about south of Udine. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,816 and a ...
,
Udine
Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...
and took up fencing at AS Sangiorgina (now Gemina Scherma) in
San Giorgio di Nogaro
San Giorgio di Nogaro ( fur, Sant Zorç di Noiâr, Central Eastern Friulian: ''San Zorz'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about south of ...
under the coaching of Dario Codarin. After her secondary studies in Cervignano, she moved to Rome to join
Centro Sportivo Esercito
The Centro Sportivo Esercito (sometimes known as Gruppo Sportivo Esercito or with the acronym CSE), is the sport section of the Italian Army.
History
Centro Sportivo Esercito was born on 1 January 1960 on the occasion of the 1960 Summer Olympics t ...
, the sport section of the
Italian Army
"The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law"
, colors =
, colors_labels =
, march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...
, under coach Oleg Pouzanov.
Navarria married her physical trainer Andrea Lo Coco. They have a son, Samuele. Her sister Caterina and her brother Enrico are
sabre
A sabre ( French: sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...
fencers.
Career
She won the
Fencing World Cup
The FIE Fencing World Cup is an international fencing competition held by the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime. In each weapon (Men's and Women's Épée, Sabre and Foil), three Grand Prix, five World Cup events and several satellite events ar ...
in the junior category in 2004 and 2006. She was first selected into the senior Italian team for the
2005 European Fencing Championships The 2005 European Seniors Fencing Championships were held in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary from 27 June to 3 July 2005.
Overview
Medal table
Results
Men
Foil individual
Épée individual
Sabre individual
Foil team
Épée team
Sabre team
...
, where she finished 49th in the individual event and 9th with the team.
In the 2009–10 season Navarria was part of the Italian team that earned a silver medal after being defeated in the final by Poland. The year after, at the
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
on home ground, in Catania, Navarria was stopped in the table of 16 by Poland's
Magdalena Piekarska
Magdalena Piekarska (born 28 November 1986) is a Polish fencer. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport e ...
and finished 12th. In the team event, Italy lost in the semifinal to China, which had just placed two fencers on the individual podium. They defeated Germany 45–33 to win the bronze medal.
Navarria began the 2011–12 season by her first victory in the senior World Cup with a gold medal in Doha, followed by a silver medal in Budapest. She qualified to the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
as a member of the Italian team. In the individual event, she was defeated in the table of 32 by
Maya Lawrence
Maya Lawrence (born 1980)Maya Lawrence USA Fencing. Accessed April 17, 2012. is an American team event, Italy lost to the United States in the first round and ended up 7th after the ranking matches. Navarria finished the season 12th in world rankings, a career best as of 2014.
Navarria took a break in her career in the 2012–13 season to give birth to a son, Samuele. She came back to competition at the
2013 Mediterranean Games
The 2013 Mediterranean Games ( tr, 2013 Akdeniz Oyunları), officially known as the XVII Mediterranean Games ( tr, XVII Akdeniz Oyunları) and commonly known as Mersin 2013, was an international multi-sport event held from 20 to 30 June 2013 i ...
in Mersin, where she finished 7th. At the
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
in Budapest, she was stopped in the quarter-finals by Russia's
Anna Sivkova
Anna Vitalyevna Sivkova (russian: Анна Витальевна Сивкова; born 12 April 1982) is a Russian épée fencer, 2004 Olympic team champion., three-time World team champion (2001, 2003, and 2013) and European team champion in 201 ...
, who eventually earned a silver medal. In the team event Italy lost to Russia 27 to 28 in the quarter-finals and finished 5th.
The following season, Navarria reached the quarter-finals in the Havana and Rio de Janeiro World Cup tournaments. In the 2014 European Championships, she lost to France's
Lauren Rembi
Lauren Rembi (born 9 March 1992) is a French right-handed épée fencer and two-time team European champion and 2016 Olympian.
Career
Rembi competed in the women's individual épée and the women's team épée events at the 2016 Summer Oly ...
in the second round. In the team event, Italy were defeated by Romania in the semi-finals. They then prevailed over Estonia to earn a bronze medal. In the
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
in Kazan, Navarria was knocked off in the second round by Estonia's
Erika Kirpu
Erika Kirpu (born 22 June 1992) is an Estonia, Estonian right-handed épée Fencing, fencer.
Kirpu is a two-time team European champion and 2017 team world champion.
A two-time Olympic Games, Olympian, Kirpu is a 2021 team Olympic champion.
Kir ...
, who would eventually take the silver medal. In the team event, Italy took revenge on Romania in the quarter-finals, but lost to Estonia in the semifinal. They overcame Hungary in the small final to earn a bronze medal.
In the 2014–15 season Navarria climbed her first World Cup podium since her comeback with a silver medal in Barcelona after losing in the final to China's
Xu Anqi
Xu Anqi (; born 23 January 1992) is a Chinese right-handed épée fencer.
Xu is a two-time individual Asian champion, four-time team Asian champion, and two-time team world champion.
A three-time Olympian, Xu is a 2016 team Olympic silver meda ...
European Fencing Confederation
The European Fencing Confederation (EFC; french: Confédération européenne d'escrime, CEE) is an international body created in 1991, charged with the promotion and development of fencing in Europe. It organises the European Fencing Championships ...
* at the
Italian Fencing Federation
The Italian Fencing Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Scherma, FIS) is the national governing body for the fencing sport in Italy. The FIS is currently based in Rome. The FIS was founded is 1909 and was one of the nine founding nations of The ...