Despite that setback, Differt gave her assurance that her participation in the competition is not in any jeopardy.

Famously, Estonia's women's epee team took gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021 due to the pandemic, while Kristina Lehis took individual bronze. None of the medal-winning foursome are taking part in Paris, however, leaving Differt, 34, the sole foil-bearer for Estonia this time round.

At a press conference Wednesday, Differt said the fencing mask in question is about a month old. "I picked it up at the equipment inspection, where they pointed out the problem. I had never known that such an issue could exist," Differt said.

"Sometimes, if masks come unglued, they will tell you to add some glue. But they said the wrong rivets were used. I told them they were the factory installed ones and asked what I could do. They said to fix it."

Not only Differt, Estonia's sole representative this time in a discipline which brought home two medals in Tokyo in 2021, but other competitors fell foul of the inspectors.

"It seems we might have been among the first to go through the equipment inspection; the Chinese and Korean teams also had a lot of issues. It feels like they're being overly meticulous about too many things," Differt recounted.

Speaking about the incident, coach Helen Nelis-Naukas said: "The mask has rivets on the side, and we were told that they all need to be rounded, but two of them were sharp. Nelli was told that she couldn't fence using it."

When asked if this situation might jeopardize being able to compete, Differt said: "No, definitely not. There's always a solution. I believe Kaido will fix the mask and get it through the equipment inspection. If not, we'll figure out another way."

Differt was referring to Kaido Kaaberma, who coached the olympic medals-winning team. He was initially invited to Paris as a weapons specialist.

On the difference between having rounded or sharp rivets on the mask, the fencer said: "Nobody knows."

"I'm not even sure if there's a rule about this or not," she chuckled.

Nelis-Naukas agreed, adding, "I've read up on the rules, and there's nothing written in there about rivets needing to be rounded. This seems to be something they've come up with themselves."

"But I don't think there's any reason to panic," Differt noted, adding that a new mask is on order.

Even if that doesn't arrive in time, Kaberma has the right tools with him to fix the issue. Equipment issues were indeed a major reason why Kaberma was brought along, Nelis-Naukas said, adding that he is now assigned team leader and deals with a range of matters.

"If Kaido hadn't been with us, I don't know what we would have done," Nelis-Naukas said.

Around 30 fencers competing in Paris use the same Hungarian brand of masks, Differt added. "I don't know how this will be resolved."

As for the schedule, Differt said it is a busy one – training in the morning Wednesday followed by a trip to the venue, the 1900-built Grand Palais, orientation to the tournament's set up, then the press conference.

As for her prospects, coach Nelis-Naukas said that "a year ago, Nellis said she wanted gold."

Differt's retort: "I only wear gold - I'm allergic to other metals" In my ears and my navel."

"And since it's her birthday today, I gave her only gold things as gifts," the coach quipped.

"Definitely, this birthday is more special than any previous ones because I get to celebrate it at such a special sporting event," Differt said of the occasion.

"I feel more excited than nervous. The venue we visited today was very impressive. You can see that the French have put in a lot of effort. The atmosphere there is completely different from other sports halls. We were told that there are 7,000 seats for spectators. It was very, very powerful. I think it's more of a feeling of wanting to get out and start competing," she summed up.

Differt is in action early on in the games, this Saturday, July 27, starting from 11.00 a.m. local time, in the Women's epee individual event.

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