Misaki Emura took gold in the individual women's sabre at the world championships in Cairo, beating Azerbaijan's world No. 1 Anna Bashta 15-10 in the final on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old Tokyo Olympian is the first Japanese athlete to reach the podium in individual sabre at a world championships or Olympics, according to the Japan Fencing Federation.
She became Japan's second fencing world champion, following Yuki Ota's 2015 men's foil victory.
"I never thought I would stand on the final piste," said Emura, referring to the strip where fencing matches are played. "It feels like a dream."
"I managed to progress one match at a time, with an individual strategy for each opponent."
World No. 3 Emura is the second Japanese medalist at the July 15-23 world championships. Kazuyasu Minobe won silver in individual men's epee on Tuesday, earning Japan's first-ever podium finish in the event.
