Enzo Lefort

Career

Lefort was born in French Guiana. He discovered fencing when he was five, while watching fellow French Caribbean Laura Flessel win the gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics at Atlanta. He began fencing at CREPS in Les Abymes, Guadeloupe, where he trained under Ruddy Plicoste along with Jean-Paul Tony Helissey and Ysaora Thibus. He later joined the centre for promising athletes in Châtenay-Malabry in metropolitan France.

Lefort won the French national championship in 2012. At the 2012 Summer Olympics he competed in the Men's foil, but was defeated in the second round. In the team event, France were defeated 39–45 against the United States in the quarter-finals. After the fencing section of the Lagardère Paris Racing was dissolved, Lefort joined the Cercle d'Escrime Melun Val de Seine.

In the 2013–14 season Lefort won the Challenge International de Paris, his first World Cup medal, and climbed the podium in Venice, Saint-Petersburg and Havana. In the European Championships at Strasbourg, Lefort was defeated in the second round by Denmark's Emil Ulrik Andersen. In the team event, France received a bye, then overcame the Czech Republic and Russia to meet Italy in the final. They prevailed 45–41 to earn the gold medal. A month later in the World Championships at Kazan, Lefort was seeded number two. He made his way to the quarter-finals, where he defeated reigning European champion James-Andrew Davis, but was defeated in the semi-final by Aleksey Cheremisinov of Russia and came away with a bronze medal. In the team event, No.2 seeded France received a bye, then knocked out Hong Kong, Germany and hosts Russia to meet China in the Final. They beat China 45–25 to earn the gold medal. Lefort finished the season No.2 in FIE rankings.