GBR claimed two bronze medals on the 24th February at the 2026 Junior European Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia: Tristan Lumineau in the Individual Men’s Epee event, and Amelie Tsang in the Individual Women’s Foil.
Winning all of his poule fights, Tristan Lumineau went into the direct elimination phase of the Junior Men’s Epee event seeded first. Amelie Tsang was seeded sixth in the Junior Women’s Foil event after winning five of six poule fights. Due to their strong performances, both earned a bye into the table of 64.
Tristan’s first opponent was Ruben Garcia Miguel (ESP). After beating him 15-8, he went on to defeat Martin Aleksander Vik (NOR) 15-8. In the last 16, Tristan put up a fierce battle against Odinn Bindas (FRA), eventually going into the priority minute at 14-14. A resilient and level-headed attitude saw Tristan clinch victory, taking him to the quarterfinals against Vahab Fatullayev (AZE). Within the first three-minute period, Tristan defeated him 15-4 to earn a place on the podium.
Tristan’s opponent in the semi-final was Fedor Khaperskiy (ISR). Despite a strong performance, he was defeated 15-10 to take the bronze medal.
Khaperskiy went on to defeat Noam Duchene (FRA) in the final to become European Champion, and Tristan shared the bronze medal with Roman Selyutin (RUS).
Tristan said:
“I’m quite tired, to be honest. It’s been 13 hours that I’ve been awake. It’s been non-stop today. But it was a good day. It was worth it. I’m happy with myself.
“First of all I’d like to thank my coach Oana because I wouldn’t be on the podium and I wouldn’t have won this medal without her. But also I’d like to thank my friends and family, especially my dad because he’s my biggest fan. And also Princeton fencing team because I’ve been with them for the past nine months or so, and I think they’ve supported me in many ways since I joined university.”
Oana Puiu added:
“Tristan’s performance today was simply outstanding. Of course, we were both dreaming of the brightest medal, but knowing how much work, sacrifice, and perseverance it took over the years to be able to step onto the European Championships individual podium, I can honestly say that this bronze medal shines like gold.
We at Salle Paul Phoenix are incredibly proud of this achievement. It stands as one of the highest points of his career so far, perhaps just behind the junior team gold medal won in March 2025. Since last autumn, Tristan has been following a demanding training program at Princeton University, and today his dedication, determination, and relentless commitment truly paid off. This is more than a medal — it is the reward for years of belief, discipline, and hard work.”
In the Women’s Foil competition, Amelie knocked out Alice Casal Brodu (ESP) 15-10 and went on to defeat Martina Ros Vinas (ESP) 15-2 and Ella Gamke (GER) 15-9. In the quarterfinals, she put on a strong performance to defeat Italy’s Jazmin Papp 15-8, securing a medal.
In the final, Amelie faced Italy’s Ludovica Franzoni. Despite initially trailing behind, Amelie clawed her way back to level the score to 14-14. The final point went to Franzoni, earning Amelie the bronze medal at the European Championships.
Greta Collini (ITA) defeated Franzoni in the final 15-9 to claim the European title, and Amelie shared the bronze medal with Alara Atmaca (TUR).
Reflecting on her day, Amelie said:
“I’m feeling really happy. It’s really nice to end my juniors with a medal at the European Championships, and overall it was a really good day of fencing. So overall I’m happy.
“I’d definitely like to thank my coach Pete Barwell because this would not have happened without him, but also my fencing club ZFW and my family and my friends, who have always supported him.”
Amelie’s coach Pete said of her performance:
“Really proud of Amelie today. Once again she showed her world class ability. This demonstrates how she has continued to build her fencing since her Cadet World Championship title from Plovdiv in 2023. Amelie’s semi-final was so close, only missing the final by one hit. This is a great springboard into next month’s U20 World Championships in Rio.”
This post is related to the BF 2030 Strategy goal to Deliver GBR success. You can read more about the Strategy here.
Both Tristan and Amelie are members of the GBR Pathway Programme, which supports athletes who are moving through a defined development pathway to success at the highest level of fencing.
Click here to view the full results from Tbilisi.
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