Men's and women's events were held in junior sabre with Konstantin Lokhanov winning the former and Olga Nikitina the latter.

Lokhanov's success in the Italian city came after a keenly contested final with France's Sebastien Patrice.

He came through 15-13 for gold at the Cattolica Center.

Bronze medals were won by beaten semi-finalists Raoul Bonah of Germany and home Italian fencer Matteo Neri.

Nikitina's title came at the expense of Mexico's Natalia Botello, who she beat 15-12 in the final.

Italy won another home medal as Lucia Lucarini shared bronze with Liza Pusztai of Hungary.

More than 1,250 young athletes have converged for the International Fencing Federation event.

Competition is due to continue tomorrow with the cadet sabre tournaments for both genders.