Ndolo finishes eleventh in Milan Fencing World Championships

German-born Kenyan fencer Alexandra Ndolo finished eleventh in her individual discipline - Women’s Senior epee - in the ongoing 2023 Milan Fencing World Championships in Italy.

The reigning African champion recorded two victories leading up to a Round of 16 exit - where she beat Great Britain’s Caron Julia before advancing past Chinese opponent Yu Sihan in a Round of 32 matchup on 22 July 2023.

It was in the following round that she suffered an exit, as she lost to Louis Marie Alexandra of France, bringing an end to her seven match-winning streak that stretched back to her Round 1 loss to Chloe Bousfiha on 19 June 2023.

All contests in the World Championships were direct eliminations.

Ultimately, Frenchwoman Marie-Florence Candassamy defeated Alberta Santuccio of Italy 15-12 to win gold, with the duo of Mara Navarria and Sun Yiwen tying for third to win bronze.

Ndolo had been seeded sixth with 144 ranking points - a position she still holds in the world.

The World Championships presented the route Ndolo had initially opened about leading her to an Olympic Games appearance after missing out in 2020.

She still holds the top spot in Africa and that has to be the case, as she admitted, till April next year.

Ndolo opens up on difficult fencing journey leading up to 'special week'

There still exist six World Cup events across Vancouver, Doha and other cities all leading up to the Paris Games where she intends to participate.

The championships come to a conclusion on Saturday 30 July, with Thursday presenting the Women's sabre and men's foil semi-finals and finals.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board on 22 June approved Ndolo’s application for change of nationality from Germany to Kenya meaning that she is free to represent the country in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

The former World Championships silver medalist is among the athletes whose pathway is a priority with very high chances of doing well in the Olympics.