A round-up of the 2026 Senior European Championships in Antony, which took place on 16th – 21st June. Athletes represented Great Britain across all three weapons in a highly competitive Championships against Europe’s leading senior fencers.
The 2026 Senior European Championships brought together the continent’s top athletes for six days of world-class competition, as they sought to build momentum on the road to Los Angeles 2028.
Our athletes recorded a number of notable individual results, with Jaimie Cook and David Sosnov securing strong finishes in Senior Men’s Foil, placing 10th and 12th respectively, while Harry Bird added to the results with an 18th place finish. These individual performances resulted in all three climbing the international ranking list to 29th, 34th & 88th, respectively. Susan Sica Maria reached the last 32 of the Women’s Epee competition.
Great Britain’s standout performance came in Men’s Foil, where the British quartet of Jaimie Cook, David Sosnov, Harry Bird, and Joe Donaghue recorded an impressive run to finish 8th overall, which saw them closing the gap in the FIE Team Rankings.
Men’s Epee: 116 Entrants
Women’s Sabre: 59 Entrants
Women’s Foil: 62 Entrants
Men’s Sabre: 68 Entrants
Women’s Epee: 100 Entrants
Men’s Foil: 66 Entrants
Men’s Epee Team: Finishing Position 17/23
Women’s Sabre Team: Finishing Position 13/13
Women’s Foil Team: Finishing Position 12/12
Men’s Sabre Team: Finishing Position 13/15
Women’s Epee Team: Finishing Position 16/17
Men’s Foil Team: Finishing Position 8/12
BF also recognises the valuable contribution of Sam McLellan who officiated at the 2026 Senior Championships in Antony as part of the referee team supporting the event. Sam played a key role across both the semi-finals and finals in the men’s and women’s individual as well as team events. Sam’s involvement reflects the continued development of the British refereeing pathway and the importance of officials within the wider high-performance programme.
Georgina Usher (BF CEO) attended in her role as FIE Safeguarding Officer.
Jon Willis worked as part of the DT team.
Karim Bashir worked as part of the commentary team.
This event marked an important milestone, with BF aiming to field full teams as part of our preparation for LA 2028. The intention is to select complete squads for Senior Major Championships across 2026 and 2027, providing athletes with valuable exposure to the highest levels of international competition. Selection during this period is designed not only to target immediate performance outcomes, but also to create opportunities for growth, learning, and long-term development, helping athletes build the experience and capabilities required to succeed at Olympic level in LA 2028 and beyond.
Thanks to the GBR coaches who supported the team throughout the Championships (Jon Salfield, Pavel Rynes, and Keith Cook), providing invaluable guidance and expertise across the competition. We also wish to recognise the vitally important role played by personal coaches in the ongoing development of our athletes, whose commitment and support throughout the season underpin the performances seen on the international stage.
BF congratulates all selected athletes, coaches, referees, and support staff involved in the Senior European Championships.
The main BF webpage about this event is here.
View the results on Fencing Time Live here.
View the livestreams via Fencing TV here.
View photos on the BF Digital Portal here.
Photo Credit: #BizziTeam
This post is related to the BF 2030 Strategy goal to Deliver GBR success. You can read more about the Strategy here.
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