Athlete of the Week on RRI – Fencer Ana Maria Branza

Ana Maria Branza won the 2014 Sakovics Jozsef Grand Prix in Bucharest.

Florin Orban, 04.02.2014, 12:58

It’s been a tremendous early 2014 for Romanian fencing. Ana Maria Branza, a former Olympic epee vice-champion and European champion, has managed a new remarkable performance. She won the “Sakovics Jozsef” Grand Prix tournament held in Budapest, a competition counting towards the World Cup.

According to Agerpres news agency, the Romanian fencer had a constant evolution throughout the competition. In the quarterfinals Branza edged out Marta Ferrari of Italy, 15-11. In the semi-finals, Branza went up against Liubov Shutova of Russia. The match was tough, but Branza pulled a narrow 11-10 win. In the final round, Branza had a shining performance, defeating Irina Embrich of Estonia 15-7.

Following her outstanding achievement, we have designated Ana-Maria Branza Athlete of the Week on RRI.

Ana-Maria Branza was born on November 26, 1984. In 2001 Ana-Maria obtained her first notable performance in international competitions, as she became world cadet champion in Poland. In 2002 she became world junior champion in Turkey. Also in 2002 she ranked 3rd at the world seniors’ championships in Lisbon.

At the 2004 Athens Olympics she ranked 16th. She made up for her poor performance four years later at the Beijing Olympics, where she walked away with silver. In 2010 and 2011 she was part of the Romanian women’s epee team that won the world title. In 2013, at the European Championships in Croatia, Branza won gold in the singles competition and silver with Romania’s national team.

This year Ana-Maria Branza will also compete in the European Championships to be held in Strasbourg, France, as well as in the World Championships in Kazan, Russia.