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

sabre A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...

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

Career

Berder was born in 1989 in

Morlaix Morlaix (; , ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. History The Battle of Morlaix, part of the Hundred Years' War, was fought near the town on 30 Septembe ...

, and grew up in the nearby city of

Quimper Quimper (, ; ; or ) is a Communes of France, commune and Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the ...

. 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 ma ...

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

, even though the class had only boys. After her

baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

, 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 events at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing ...

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 The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as Lond ...

. 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 name is ...

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 woman to win a gold medal in fencing at the Olympics (which happened in 200 ...

, 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 along the way. She also earned her first medal in the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

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: ''Paris School of Journalism'') is an institution of higher education in Paris dedicated to journalism and related studies. Its origin was in the ''Collège Libre des Sciences S ...

. Berder is competing at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. She defeated

Ibtihaj Muhammad Ibtihaj Muhammad (born December 4, 1985) is an American sabre fencer, author, entrepreneur and Olympic medalist. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she became the first American woman to compete in the Olympics in hijab, the first American Muslim wom ...

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 Fencers at the 2024 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