Elisa di Francisca dedicates medal to EU, vows fight against terrorism An Italian fencer used her victory speech at the Olympics to urge the world to unite against Islamic extremism and […]

An Italian fencer used her victory speech at the Olympics to urge the world to unite against Islamic extremism and violence.

After winning silver in one of the fencing events, Elisa di Francisca held up an EU flag, and said: “Europe exists and is united. I did it for Paris and Brussels. If we remain united we can defeat terrorism.”

“Let’s not allow those who want us to shut ourselves in our homes to get the better of us,” she added.

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Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, called the athlete’s gesture a “powerful message of unity”.

‘Bravo twice’

Di Francisca was the defending champion in the women’s individual foil after taking the title in London 2012, and lost a hard-fought final to Russia’s Inna Deriglazova.

Fellow Italian Federica Mogherini – the EU’s foreign policy chief – also tweeted her praises, writing: “the flag of Europe, the ideals of the best youth – bravo twice”.

Not everyone welcomed the statement, however.

Italian MEP Matteo Salvini, who heads the right-wing Northern League party, said of Di Francisca: “She is very good but the EU is the worst of institutions, and with the EU flag there is little to rejoice in.”

The fencer is the first Olympic athlete to fly the EU flag.

Terror attacks committed by Islamic extremists claimed 147 lives in Paris last year, and 32 in Brussels this year. Germany, often seen as the lynchpin of the EU, has suffered a series of atrocities this summer, including a bloody week of violence that saw 10 people killed and dozens more injured in separate gun, bomb and axe attacks.