China's Sun wins bronze in Olympic fencing warmup

RIO DE JANEIRO -- China secured six of the top 40 women's epee places at the International Fencing Federation Grand Prix in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.

The event gave 400 athletes from over 50 countries and regions a preview of what they can expect at next year's Olympic Games.

Italian Francesca Boscarelli won the women's competition by overcoming France's Coraline Vitalis 15-9 in the final.

China's Sun Yiwen, defeated 15-12 by Boscarelli in the semifinals, shared the bronze medal with Kelley Hurley of the US.

Other Chinese competitors to finish in the top 40 were Xu Anqi (15th), Sun Yujie (19th), Hao Jialu (25th), Qin Xue (28th) and Lin Sheng (40th).

France's Yannick Borel won the men's epee by beating Switzerland's Max Heinzer 15-10 in their gold medal match on Saturday.

Germany's Cristoph Kneip and Poland's Radoslav Zawrotniak shared the bronze medal.

The ninth and final Grand Prix of the season will be held in Moscow next weekend and will feature men's and women's saber.