Cécilia Berder (born 13 December 1989) is a French right-handed

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 ...

fencer, 2018 team world champion, two-time Olympian, and 2021 team Olympic silver medalist.

Career

Berder was born in 1989 in

Morlaix Morlaix (; br, Montroulez) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Leisure and tourism The old quarter of the town has winding streets of cobbled stones and overha ...

, and grew up in the nearby city of

Quimper Quimper (, ; br, Kemper ; la, Civitas Aquilonia or ) is a commune and prefecture of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the prefecture (capital) of the Finistère department. Geography Th ...

. A very energetic child, she was pushed by her parents toward sport. Her first choice was rock climbing, but the class was full, so she opted for fencing at Escrime Quimper Cornouaille. She first tried

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ...

, the traditional teaching weapon, but found it boring. Coach Serge Larher suggested she try

, even though the class had only boys. After her baccalauréat, she joined the centre for promising young athletes in

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Anne-Lise Touya Anne-Lise Touya (born 19 January 1981) is a French fencer. She competed in the 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 mod ...

and

Léonore Perrus Léonore Simone Yvonne Perrus (born 22 April 1984) is a French fencer. She competed in the sabre events at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. Honours Orders *Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite Chevalier may refer to: Honours B ...

. She won the bronze medal in the 2007 Junior European Fencing Championships at Prague. In 2008, Berder was selected as reserve for the Beijing Olympics. The same year, she took her first national senior title. In the 2009 World Championships at Antalya, she climbed her first international podium with a team silver medal after France was defeated in the final by Ukraine. The next season, Berder climbed her first podium in the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

with a bronze medal in the Orleans Grand Prix, hosted by her own club. France was defeated again by Ukraine in the 2010 World Championships at home in Paris, this time in the semi-finals. In the small final, they overcame the United States, weakened by the injury withdrawal of Olympic champion

Mariel Zagunis Mariel Leigh Zagunis (born March 3, 1985) is an American sabre fencer. She is a two-time Olympic champion in the individual sabre (2004 and 2008) and the first American to win a gold medal in Olympic fencing. She was Team USA flag bearer in th ...

, to earn the bronze medal. In 2011, Berder made her way to the final of the Orléans Grand Prix, where she was defeated by Zagunis. In the 2013–14 season Berder won her first World Cup title in Antalya, defeating reigning Olympic champion

Kim Ji-yeon Kim Ji-yeon (Hangul: 김지연; or ; born 12 March 1988) is a South Korean left-handed sabre fencer. Kim is a five-time team Asian champion and four-time individual Asian champion. A three-time Olympian, Kim is a 2021 team Olympic bronz ...

along the way. She also earned her first medal in the European Championships with a team silver in Strasbourg. 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, ...

, she got to the table of 16, a personal best to date, but was stopped by Zagunis. In the team event, France defeated Hungary, then host Russia and Italy to meet the United States in the final. France stood their ground for most of the match, leading 20–15 at some point, before giving way in the seventh leg. They were eventually beaten 39–45. Berder finished the season 16th in world rankings, a personal best. Berder is pursuing a master of journalism at the

École supérieure de journalisme de Paris The École supérieure de journalisme (ESJ Paris; in English: ''Superior School of Journalism of Paris'') is an institution of higher education in Paris dedicated to journalism and related studies. Its origin was in the ''Collège Libre des Scienc ...

. Berder is competing at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She defeated

Ibtihaj Muhammad Ibtihaj Muhammad (born December 4, 1985) is an American sabre fencer and member of the United States fencing team. She is known for being the first Muslim American woman to wear a headscarf while competing for the United States in the Olympics ...

in the second round.

Medal Record

Olympic Games

World Championship

European Championship

Grand Prix

World Cup

References

External links

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Profile
at the European Fencing Confederation {{DEFAULTSORT:Berder, Cecilia 1989 births Living people French female sabre fencers People from Morlaix Fencers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic fencers for France Sportspeople from Finistère Mediterranean Games gold medalists for France Mediterranean Games medalists in fencing Fencers at the 2013 Mediterranean Games Fencers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for France Olympic medalists in fencing Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics 21st-century French sportswomen Fencers at the 2023 European Games European Games gold medalists for France European Games medalists in fencing