Nathalie Moellhausen (born 1 December 1985) is an

épée The (, ; ), also rendered as epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains a ...

fencer who initially represented

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and now represents

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. In 2019, she became her country's first-ever individual World Champion in épée at the Championships held in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. With the Italy team, she won the team World championship in 2009 and team European championship in 2007. Representing Brazil, she won the women's individual épée World Champion title in 2019 in Budapest, Hungary.

Early life

Moellhausen was born in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

to an Italian-German father and a

ian mother, stylist Valeria Ferlini. Nathalie holds dual citizenship. At age five, she began fencing at her school, then at CS Mangiarotti, where she trained under Nicola Pomarnasky, then Sandro Resegotti. She won in 2004 a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships in Plovdiv.

Career

At the age of 18, she joined C.S. Aeronautica Militare, the sport section of the Italian Air Force, and moved to Paris to be coached by Daniel Levavasseur, who was training

Laura Flessel Laura Flessel-Colovic (born 6 November 1971) is a French politician and Fencing, épée fencer who served as Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports (France), Minister of Sports from 2017 to 2018. Born in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, she has won th ...

at the time. The 2008–09 season saw her climb her first

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

podium with a bronze medal in the Doha Grand Prix. Bronzes followed it in Tauberbischofsheim and Budapest, silver in the Montreal World Cup, and gold in the Lobnya World Cup. In the 2009 World Championships in Antalya, she was stopped in the round of 32, but in the team event, she conquered Italy's first gold in women's épée along with

Bianca Del Carretto Bianca Del Carretto (born 28 August 1985) is an Italian épée fencer. She was European champion in 2014 and team World champion in 2009. Career Del Carretto learnt fencing at Club Scherma Rapallo under Roberto Cirillo. Her first international ...

Francesca Quondamcarlo Francesca Quondamcarlo (; born 21 August 1984) is an Italian épée fencer. She won a gold medal with Italy in the 2009 World Fencing Championships and a silver medal in the 2013 European Fencing Championships. References 1984 births Liv ...

and

Cristiana Cascioli Cristiana Cascioli (born 10 August 1975) is an Italian former fencer. She competed in the women's individual épée events at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), an ...

. Moellhausen finished the season No.8 in world rankings, her personal best as of 2014. In the 2009–10 season, Moellhausen won a silver medal in the Rome Grand Prix. In the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

at Paris, she made her way to the semi-finals, where she was defeated by

Emese Szász Emese (fl. 9th century CE) was the daughter of Duke Eunedubelianus () of Dentumoger, the consort of the noblest Scythian (i.e. from Dentumoger, Scythia) prince Ügyek, and the mother of High Prince Álmos in Hungarian historical mythology; thu ...

of Hungary and came away with the bronze medal. In the team event Italy were overcome by Estonia in the table of 16 and could not defend their title. A string of injuries plagued Moellhausen's pre-Olympic season. She, however, won the bronze medal in the 2011 European Championships in Sheffield after being defeated in the semi-final by Switzerland's

Tiffany Géroudet Tiffany Géroudet (born 3 September 1986 in Sion, Valais) is a Swiss épée fencer, European champion in 2011. She is currently 9th in FIE rankings. Biography Géroudet was born in Sion, Switzerland, in a family of three children. She prac ...

. In the

in Catania, she fell in the table of 32 to South Korea's Jung Hyo-jung. In the team event, Italy reached the semi-finals, where China defeated them. They met Germany in the small final and prevailed 45–33 to win the bronze medal. Moellhausen was selected for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

only as a reserve for the team. Italy was defeated in the quarterfinals by the United States and earned no medal. After the Games, Moellhausen took a break in her sport career and assumed the artistic direction of the 2013 centenary gala of the

International Fencing Federation The International Fencing Federation (''Fédération Internationale d'Escrime'') commonly known by the acronym FIE, is the international Sport governing body, governing body of Olympic Games, Olympic fencing. Today, its head office is at th ...

at the

Grand Palais The (; ), commonly known as the , is a historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris between the Champs-Élysées and the Seine, France. Construction of the began in 1897 following the demolitio ...

in Paris. She announced in early 2014 her decision to come back to competition, this time under the Brazilian flag. She explained that fencing for Brazil, which has no other female épée fencer in the Top 100, allows her to aim for a qualification to the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

while pursuing a professional career. She went back to training under Levavasseur and Laura Flessel. She was eliminated in the first round in her two first competitions since the 2012 Olympics, the Barcelona Grand Prix and the Rio World Cup, but she reached the quarterfinals in the Pan American Championships. In the 2014 World Championships in Kazan, she was knocked out in the first round by Italy's

Rossella Fiamingo Rossella Fiamingo (born 14 July 1991) is an Italian left-handed épée fencer and two-time individual world champion. A three-time Olympian, Fiamingo is a 2021 and 2024 team Olympic bronze and Gold, respectively, medalist and 2016 individual Ol ...

, who would eventually win the gold medal. In the 2016 Olympics, Moellhausen reached the quarterfinals of the épée tournament, the best Olympic result Brazil ever had at this sport. At the 2019 World Championships, Moellhausen was the only non-top-16 female épée fencer to reach the final four. She won her first two matches comfortably, beating Poland's

Renata Knapik-Miazga Renata Knapik-Miazga ( Knapik; born 15 July 1988) is a Polish épée fencer. She participated in the 2020 and the 2024 Summer Olympics, winning the bronze medal in the épée team competition at the latter. Career Knapik-Miazga took up fencing ...

15–12 in the first round and China's Mingye Zhu 15–10 in the second. She won her round of 16 against Italy's

Alberta Santuccio Alberta Santuccio (born 22 October 1994) is an Italian right-handed épée fencer and 2021 team Olympic bronze medalist. Early life Santuccio was born on 22 October 1994, in Catania, Italy. She began fencing at the age of seven after witnessi ...

. Moellhausen led throughout the match and eventually won, 15–14. After a dramatic 11-10 extra-time win over Lis Röttler-Fautsch from Luxembourg in the quarterfinals, she overcame No. 3 seed

Vivian Kong Vivian Kong Man Wai (; born 8 February 1994) is a Hong Kong former left-handed épée fencer. A three-time individual Asian champion and three-time Olympian, she won gold in women's individual épée at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Early ...

from

Hong Kong, China Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

in the semis, 15–9. She finally won the final in extra time 13–12 against World No. 11, Sheng Lin from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

to claim her first individual World Champion title and the first-ever medal at a World Fencing Championship for

. Nathalie promotes fencing for students in Brazil, performing social work activities in schools and in fencing clubs. During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Moellhausen has conducted virtual fencing training sessions on Instagram that have been promoted by FIE. The day of her debut at the

2024 olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, on July 27, 2024, Moellhausen felt sick. She received immediate medical care during the competition, but was later defeated by her rival, Canadian

Ruien Xiao Ruien (Angel) Xiao (born November 7, 2007) is a Canadian fencer in the épée discipline. Xiao has won medals at the Pan American level. Xiao was born in China and she lives in Markham, Ontario. Career In 2023, Xiao was picked for Canada's 202 ...

. It was later revealed Moellhausen had been diagnosed with a benign tumor around her lumbar region, which also was the reason for an emergency hospitalization a few days before the Olympics began that year.

Artistic and Lifestyle

Nathalie took a break from fencing in 2013 when she took over as artistic director for FIE for events held in Europe. In addition to artistic endeavours, Nathalie has ventured into modeling and social media branding. She walked the catwalk for Italian dressmaker

Alberta Ferretti Alberta Ferretti (; ) is an Italian fashion designer and dressmaker. She designed for her namesake brand Alberta Ferretti from its foundation in 1981 to 2024, and designed for Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti until 2014. Her showroom is in Milan, It ...

after winning team gold at the World Championships in 2009. Nathalie says of her work in fashion, "My idea is to develop fencing as not just a sport, but as an artistic form, like fashion." She runs a fencing-related brand called 5 Touches, which offers lifestyle services in fashion, gastronomy, fitness, home goods, and more.

References

External links

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Nathalie Moellhausen
at the European Fencing Confederation

at the Italian National Olympic Committee {{DEFAULTSORT:Moellhausen, Nathalie 1985 births Living people Fencers from Milan Italian people of German descent Sportspeople of Brazilian descent Sportspeople of Italian descent Italian people of Brazilian descent Brazilian people of Lombard descent Italian people of Lombard descent Brazilian people of German descent Naturalized citizens of Brazil Brazilian female épée fencers Italian female épée fencers Olympic fencers for Brazil Olympic fencers for Italy Fencers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2015 Pan American Games Fencers at the 2019 Pan American Games Fencers at the 2023 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for Brazil Pan American Games bronze medalists in fencing Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Italy Mediterranean Games medalists in fencing Fencers at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Fencers of Centro Sportivo Aeronautica Militare Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games Fencers at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century Italian sportswomen 21st-century Brazilian sportswomen