Manon Apithy-Brunet is the top seed in Plovdiv ©Getty Images

France's two-time Olympic medallist Manon Apithy-Brunet heads into the women's sabre International Fencing Federation (FIE) World Cup event in Plovdiv as the top seed.

The world number two has five World Cup gold medals to her name and is one of two top-10 fencers on the entry list.

It was another Frenchwoman who won the first women's sabre World Cup in Tbilisi earlier this month - Caroline Queroli.

Queroli was on the same team as Apithy-Brunet at the 2018 FIE World Championships, where the pair won gold with compatriots Cécilia Berder and Charlotte Lembach, who are not competing in Bulgaria.

Queroli claimed the victory in Georgia in front of Greece's Theodora Gkountoura and Russian Yana Egorian, who are both not in attendance either.

Caroline Queroli, left, won the first women's sabre World Cup event of the season ©Getty Images
Caroline Queroli, left, won the first women's sabre World Cup event of the season ©Getty Images

Apithy-Brunet was fifth. 

World number 18 Rossella Gregorio of Italy, who is on the entry list, placed fourth

Youth Olympic champion Liza Pusztai of Hungary was ninth in the season-opening World Cup and will be one of the top seeds in Plovdiv.

Other top-20 fencers on the entry list are Greece's Despina Georgiadou, Misaki Emura of Japan, Olga Nikitina of Russia and Anne-Elizabeth Stone of the United States.

Hosts Bulgaria are represented by a team of nine, with the highest-ranked athlete being world number 65 Yoana Ilieva, who was the European junior champion in 2020.

Competition is set to take place tomorrow and on Saturday (January 29).