Germany come out on top

Beijing: Benjamin Kleibrink won Germany's first ever men's individual foil gold at the Olympic Games on Wednesday, beating Japan's Yuki Ota 15-9 in a captivating match that featured frequent close combat.

The 23-year-old left hander started methodically, stalking Ota, who was attempting to win Japan's first fencing gold medal.

After leading 3-2, Kleibrink scored the next five touches and took control of the bout with a series of lengthy exchanges that all left Ota on the losing end.

"It was really easy for me," Kleibrink said. "I just thought I could do it and I did it. I've made history, I have to realise this first."

In the bronze medal match, Athens individual silver medallist Salvatore Sanzo of Italy mounted a late comeback to stun China's Zhu Jun 15-14.

The world's top-ranked men's foil fencer, Italian Andrea Baldini, was disqualified before the Games after testing positive for a banned substance in the first major doping case in fencing.

Britta Heidemann won the gold medal in women's epee, giving Germany its second first-place fencing finish of the night.