Mara Navarria
Born	(1985-07-18) 18 July 1985 (age 38) Udine, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	75 kg (165 lb)
Sport
Country	Italy
Sport	Fencing
Weapon	Épée
Hand	right-handed
National coach	Sandro Cuomo
Club	CS Esercito
Head coach	Oleg Pouzanov
FIE ranking	current ranking
Medal record Women's épée Representing  Italy Olympic Games 2020 Tokyo Team épée World Championships 2018 Wuxi Individual 2022 Cairo Team 2023 Milan Team 2011 Catania Team 2014 Kazan Team 2019 Budapest Team 2023 Milan Individual European Games 2023 Kraków–Małopolska Team European Championships 2010 Leipzig Team 2022 Antalya Team 2023 Plovdiv Individual 2014 Strasbourg Team 2015 Montreux Team 2019 Düsseldorf Team 2022 Antalya Individual 2023 Kraków Team

Mara Navarria (born 18 July 1985) is an Italian right-handed épée fencer, 2018 individual world champion, two-time Olympian, and 2021 team Olympic bronze medalist.^[1]

Personal life

Navarria grew up in Carlino, Udine and took up fencing at AS Sangiorgina (now Gemina Scherma) in San Giorgio di Nogaro under the coaching of Dario Codarin.^[2] After her secondary studies in Cervignano, she moved to Rome to join Centro Sportivo Esercito, the sport section of the Italian Army, under coach Oleg Pouzanov.^[2]

Navarria married her physical trainer Andrea Lo Coco.^[2] They have a son, Samuele. Her sister Caterina and her brother Enrico are sabre fencers.

Career

She won the Fencing World Cup in the junior category in 2004 and 2006. She was first selected into the senior Italian team for the 2005 European Fencing Championships, where she finished 49th in the individual event and 9th with the team.

In the 2009–10 season Navarria was part of the Italian team that earned a silver medal after being defeated in the final by Poland.^[3] The year after, at the World Championships on home ground, in Catania, Navarria was stopped in the table of 16 by Poland's Magdalena Piekarska and finished 12th. In the team event, Italy lost in the semifinal to China, which had just placed two fencers on the individual podium. They defeated Germany 45–33 to win the bronze medal.^[4]

Navarria began the 2011–12 season by her first victory in the senior World Cup with a gold medal in Doha, followed by a silver medal in Budapest.^[5] She qualified to the 2012 Summer Olympics as a member of the Italian team. In the individual event, she was defeated in the table of 32 by Maya Lawrence of the United States.^[6] In the team event, Italy lost to the United States in the first round and ended up 7th after the ranking matches. Navarria finished the season 12th in world rankings, a career best as of 2014.

Navarria took a break in her career in the 2012–13 season to give birth to a son, Samuele.^[7] She came back to competition at the 2013 Mediterranean Games in Mersin, where she finished 7th. At the World Championships in Budapest, she was stopped in the quarter-finals by Russia's Anna Sivkova, who eventually earned a silver medal.^[8] In the team event Italy lost to Russia 27 to 28 in the quarter-finals and finished 5th.

The following season, Navarria reached the quarter-finals in the Havana and Rio de Janeiro World Cup tournaments. In the 2014 European Championships, she lost to France's Lauren Rembi in the second round. In the team event, Italy were defeated by Romania in the semi-finals. They then prevailed over Estonia to earn a bronze medal.^[9] In the World Championships in Kazan, Navarria was knocked off in the second round by Estonia's Erika Kirpu, who would eventually take the silver medal. In the team event, Italy took revenge on Romania in the quarter-finals, but lost to Estonia in the semifinal. They overcame Hungary in the small final to earn a bronze medal.^[10]

In the 2014–15 season Navarria climbed her first World Cup podium since her comeback with a silver medal in Barcelona after losing in the final to China's Xu Anqi.^[11]

Medal record

Olympic Games

Year	Location	Event	Position
2021	Tokyo, Japan	Team Women's Épée	3rd[12]

World Championships

Year	Location	Event	Position
2011	Catania, Italy	Team Women's Épée	3rd[13]
2014	Kazan, Russia	Team Women's Épée	3rd[14]
2018	Wuxi, China	Individual Women's Épée	1st[15]
2019	Budapest, Hungary	Team Women's Épée	3rd[16]
2022	Cairo, Egypt	Team Women's Épée	2nd[17]

European Championship

Year	Location	Event	Position
2010	Leipzig, Germany	Team Women's Épée	2nd[18]
2014	Strasbourg, France	Team Women's Épée	3rd[19]
2015	Montreux, Switzerland	Team Women's Épée	3rd[20]
2019	Düsseldorf, Germany	Team Women's Épée	3rd[21]
2022	Antalya, Turkey	Individual Women's Épée	3rd[22]
2022	Antalya, Turkey	Team Women's Épée	2nd[23]

Grand Prix

Date	Location	Event	Position
2012-02-25	Budapest, Hungary	Individual Women's Épée	2nd[24]
2015-12-05	Doha, Qatar	Individual Women's Épée	1st[25]
2017-12-08	Doha, Qatar	Individual Women's Épée	2nd[26]
2018-03-23	Budapest, Hungary	Individual Women's Épée	1st[27]
2019-05-03	Cali, Colombia	Individual Women's Épée	2nd[28]
2020-01-24	Doha, Qatar	Individual Women's Épée	2nd[29]

World Cup

Date	Location	Event	Position
2012-02-11	Doha, Qatar	Individual Women's Épée	1st[30]
2015-01-23	Barcelona, Spain	Individual Women's Épée	2nd[31]
2016-01-22	Barcelona, Spain	Individual Women's Épée	1st[32]
2017-10-20	Tallinn, Estonia	Individual Women's Épée	1st[33]