French epee fencer Romain Cannone can rightfully claim to be dominating his sport. He is the current world number one and the reigning world and Olympic champion. It has been an incredible rise to the top for the young athlete, who was originally only included in the 2020 French Olympic team as a back-up competitor. He has been competing in senior FIE World Cup seasons since 2014, but only finished inside the top 50 for the first time in 2020. He then finished seventh at the close of the 2020/21 season and finished top at the end of the following season. He is popular on social media, with over 19,000 followers on Instagram.
Cannone is currently living back in Paris, but he had an international upbringing. Born in the affluent Paris commune of Boulogne in April 1997, his family moved first to Brazil, and then to New York City, which is where he took up fencing aged 12. His involvement with the sport was purely by chance — he was babysitting his cousin at a lesson and fancied trying it for himself. But such chances can often feel like fate when they produce such strong competitors as Cannone.
After making his FIE debut in 2014, Cannone had a quiet start to his career, with his best achievement before 2020 being a silver medal at the 2018 Mediterranean Games. However, fate arguably intervened again in June 2021 when a fellow member of the French Olympic team failed a drugs test and Cannone took his place, going on to win gold. The win ignited his career as he became more successful at World Cup events, and in 2022, won the World Championship title for the first time.
