Mary Cohen has resurrected her Olympic dream after an incredible 15th place finish at the World Cup in Brazil gave her an outside chance of selection.

The epee fencer from Wandsworth appeared out of the reckoning after some poor results at World Cups earlier in the year but her high placing in Rio de Janeiro, the best result of her career and the first time she has made the last 64 of a competition for almost a year, has given her an unexpected boost.

She will jump to number two in the British women’s epee rankings and number 110 in the world rankings and has qualified for the European Championships in June.

As only seven other Brits, male and female, have made the last 16 of competitions this season it has put her back in the mix to be considered for selection for the squad, which is being announced on Thursday.

It is likely though the one-off result will not give her a place outright in the individual or team event but she could be named as first or second reserve.

Cohen’s biggest scalp in Brazil was in the last 64 when she beat Polish fencer Malgorzata Bereza, who won the Budapest World Cup earlier this year, 15-14.

She beat Slovakian Dagmar Baranikova 15-14 in the last 32 before losing to Ukrainian Yana Shemyakina 15-2.