First, 7-5
Vukan Radjenovic led 7-5 midway through the men’s épée final in Dakar. Simon Shan first had to erase that 2-point deficit to reach gold. FIE describes a 10-2 run in the second period that ended the final at 15-9. The passage from a 2-point deficit to a 6-point winning margin is contained in that stretch.[1]
Both fencers received passivity red cards early in the final. Radjenovic finished the first period one point ahead. Those details show the order of the contest before the 15-9 result: Radjenovic led first, followed by the second-period run. Cards also feature in the scoring account of the bout.[1]
What the run establishes
Shan said completing an action he wanted to use gave him confidence. Radjenovic said afterwards that he felt a little tired and nervous. Rising confidence and an opponent’s fatigue are two different athlete accounts accompanying the same change in score. Their statements do not establish how much either factor affected each point. In the decisive passage, Shan added 10 points while Radjenovic added 2; that was where the advantage changed hands.[1]
Radjenovic had beaten Shan in the pool stage, but Shan won their later final. The two results set a limit on treating the earlier meeting as a direct measure of the eventual medal. Radjenovic owned the pool-stage victory; the final that determined gold finished 15-9 for Shan. Keeping the stages distinct preserves both the earlier advantage and the later reversal.[1]
The bout that settled the medal
Shan reached the final by beating Van Laecke 15-10. Radjenovic defeated Popa 15-6 in his semifinal. Those results brought the two fencers into the deciding bout; their semifinal margins were not added to the final score. Gold went to Shan, who fell behind before reaching the finish through the 10-2 second-period run.[1]