The same year she won a team gold medal at the Junior World Championships in South Bend, Indiana, in the United States.

The same year she competed at the Beijing Olympics in Women's épée and reached the quarter-finals, where she was stopped by eventual silver medal Ana Maria Brânză of Romania.

At the World Championships in Antalya she edged out France's Laura Flessel-Colovic in the quarter-final, then prevailed over Anfisa Pochkalova of Ukraine to meet Canada's Sherraine Schalm in the final.

After a tight match Shutova struck the decisive hit on priority and won Russia's first World title in women's épée.

Shutova entered the last leg on a tie, but Simona Gherman struck four hits in a row to give Romania the lead in the last minute of the match.

In the team event, Russia prevailed narrowly over South Korea in the quarter-finals, then beat Hungary and Estonia in the final to win the gold medal.