Junior Men’s Sabre Team narrowly miss out on medal
The British team competing in Verona, Italy, 1-9 April boasted 18 cadets and 24 juniors covering all twelve disciplines at the World Championships. More than 1,250 athletes took to the pistes in the northern Italian town and with an all-new competition format.
The event days were split by weapons with epee leading the way for the first three days, followed by foil and then sabre. The Junior competitors took part in their individual event on the first day of each weapon, followed by the Cadet individual on day two and then the Junior team event on day three.
Day 1
Junior Individual Women’s Epee
One hundred and sixty-nine fencers took part in this event including four from Great Britain. Danielle Lawson (V4D2), Jasmine Heaps (V3D3), Bethan Plant (V2D4) and Alexandra Powell (V2D4) all progressed through the poule stage. In the round of 64 Lawson beat Ghrib (TUN) 15-12 but Heaps lost 14-13 to Tarasova (RUS), Plant fell 15-6 to Benea (ROU) and Bozza (ITA) beat Powell 15-5. In the 32 Lawson lost 15-11 to Leonard (CAN).
Russian, Anastasia Soldatova won the first title of the event beat Julia Falinska of Poland in the final. Hungary’s Kinga Nagy shared the bronze medal position with teammate Emma Borsody.
British placings: Lawson 54th, Heaps 103rd, Plant 113th= & Powell 118th.
Women’s Junior Individual Epee Results
Junior Individual Men’s Epee
Four British fencers lined up in a field of two hundred in this event. Owen Jordan (V5D1), James Russell (V4D2), Matthew Cooper (V2D3) and Antoine Belot (V2D3) all qualified for the direct elimination stages. Jordan and Russell did enough in the first round to earn byes through the round of 256 as Cooper fell 15-13 to Mancewicz (SWE) and Rojas (MEX) knocked Belot out 15-12. In the 128 Jordan lost to Gedzo (EST) 15-13 and Russell fell 15-12 to Alves (POR).
Luidgi Midelton of France was crowned champion after victory over Italian Davide Di Veroli in the final. Hungary’s Mate Koch and Lilian Nguefack of France shared the bronze medals.
British placings: Jordan 70th, Russell 85th, Cooper 139th & Belot 141st.
Men’s Junior Individual Sabre Results
Day 2
Cadet Individual Women’s Epee
The field of one hundred and twenty-five in this event included three from Great Britain. Eleanor Taylor (V4D2) and Taylor Foxwell-Moss (V2D3) qualified for the elimination rounds but Avery Louis (V1D4) missed the first round cut. In the round of 128 Taylor went out 15-9 to Karampini (GRE) and Lara (Mex) beat Foxwell-Moss 15-12.
Axelle Wasiak of Belgium was crowned champion after her victory over Lili Buki of Hungary in the gold medal match. Finland’s Outi Jaakkola and Shi Yuexin of China finished the day with the bronze medals.
British placings: Taylor 69th, Foxwell-Moss 83rd & Louis 96th.
Women’s Cadet Individual Epee Results
Cadet Individual Men’s Epee
Three British fencers lined up in the field of one hundred and fifty-one in this event. Benjamin Andrews (V6D0), Luke Mason (V3D3) and Joshua Willcox (V3D3) all did enough to progress through the first round. Ranked fifth, Andrews had a bye through the round of 128 whilst Mason defeated Minchev (BUL) 15-8 but Willcox was eliminated 15-10 by Rajendran Shanthimol (IND). Both remaining British fencers were knocked out in the next round as Herbst (USA) took out Andrews 15-8 and Mason fell 15-13 to Yarinovsky (ISR).
Italy’s Junior silver medallist, Davide Di Veroli claimed the title by beating teammate Filippo Armaleo in the final. A third Italian, Simone Greco picked up a bronze medal whilst Japan’s Seiya Asami prevented Italian podium domination by claiming the other bronze.
British placings: Andrews 34th, Mason 53rd= & Willcox 87th.
Men’s Cadet Individual Foil Results
Day 3
Junior Women’s Team Epee
Heaps, Lawson, Plant and Powell lined up for Great Britain in this event with a total entry of thirty-four. Ranked thirteenth, they had a bye through the round of 64 which they followed up with a tight 45-44 victory over Kazakhstan. The Russian team was too strong for the them in the round of 16 winning 45-31. In the placings matches Britain lost to the Czech Republic 45-27 and Canada 45-33 before beating Egypt 45-41 to take fifteenth place.
Italy claimed the gold medal beating Romania in the final as Russia defeated Ukraine to take bronze.
Junior Women’s Team Epee Results
Junior Men’s Team Epee
The Great Britain line-up, Belot, Cooper, Jordan and Russell, formed part of the forty-two strong field. Ranked eighteenth, they had a bye through the incomplete round of 64 but then lost 45-41 to Egypt to finish twenty-second.
The Hungarian team were crowned champions after beating France in the final as Italy beat Israel to the bronze medal.
Junior Men’s Team Epee Results
Day 4
Junior Individual Women’s Sabre
The field of one hundred and twenty-six included four British fencers. Maria Chart (V4D2), Jessica Corby (V2D3) and Caitlin Maxwell (V2D3) all qualified for the elimination stages but Sophia Potter (V1D4) did not. In the round of 128 Chart lost 15-11 to Pokeaw (THA), Corby was defeated 15-9 by Pysarenko (UKR) and Lau (SGP) beat Maxwell 15-10.
Olga Nikitina of Russia claimed the first sabre World title of the championships beating Natalia Botello of Mexico in the final. Hungarian Lza Pusztai and Lucia Lucarini of Italy were the bronze medallists.
British placings: Chart 67th, Corby 84th, Maxwell 87th & Potter 102nd.
Women’s Junior Individual Sabre Results
Junior Individual Men’s Sabre
Four British fencers took part in this event amongst a field of one hundred and fifty-eight. George Suddards (V4D2), James Edwards (V6D0), Barnaby Halliwell (V4D2) and Nicholas Howes (V2D4) all progressed through the poule stages. In the round of 128 Suddards defeated Mairi (ALG) 15-7, Edwards beat Xu (CHN) 15-8 and Halliwell knocked out Agamy (EGY) 15-10 but Saron (USA) eliminated Howes 15-7. Suddards progress through the round of 64 with a brilliant 15-12 victory over Pozdnyakov (RUS) but Sarkissyan (KAZ) beat Edwards 15-12 and Hwang (KOR) knocked out Halliwell 15-9. In the round of 32 Suddards faced Neri (ITA) and lost 15-7.
Matteo Neri went on the take a bronze medal in this event, a position he shared with Germany’s Raoul Bonah. Russian Konstantin Lokhanov beat Sebastian Patrice of France in the final to claim the World title.
British placings: Suddards 28th, Edwards 34th=, Halliwell 48th= & Howes 106th.
Men’s Junior Individual Sabre Results
Day 5
Cadet Individual Women’s Sabre
There were three British fencers in this event amongst a field of one hundred and four. Maia Fashokun (V4D2), Elsie Llewellyn (V3D2) and Ellen Robbins-Wilkinson (V2D4) all progressed to the elimination stages. Fashokun and Llewellyn earned byes through the round of 128 but Robbins-Wilkinson lost 15-9 to Bartosz (POL). Both remaining British fencers were knocked out in the next round as Fashokun lost 15-11 to Clapier (FRA) and Erbil (TUR) beat Llewellyn 15-13.
Liza Pusztai of Hungary claimed the championship title by beating Natalia Botello of Mexico in the final. America’s Alexis Anglade shared the bronze medal position with Alina Klyuchnikova of Russia.
British placings: Fashokun 43rd, Llewellyn 45th & Robbins-Wilkinson 78th.
Women’s Cadet Individual Sabre Results
Cadet Individual Men’s Sabre
The field of one hundred and twenty-two included three from Great Britain. Ian Ren (V5D1), Julian Richards II (V4D2) and Mark Alvares Peres (V3D3) all made it through the poule stages. Ren had a bye through the round of 128 and Richards II beat Merkviladze (GEO) 15-10 as Alvares Peres took out Genjebaev (UZB) 15-13. In the 64 Ren shaded Shen (CHN) 15-14, Richards overcame Bohovin (UKR) 15-10 and Alvares Peres beat Kokubo (JPN) 15-13. Ren was the only British fencer to progress further as he beat Broniszewski (POL) 15-11 whilst Ailincia (ROU) beat Richards II 15-8 and Alvares Peres lost 15-9 to Hyun (KOR). Ren then fell 15-14 to Jarry (FRA) in the round of 16.
Andrei Pastin of Romania took the title beating Robert Vidovszky of America in the final as Hungary’s Krisztian Rabb and Spain’s Alonso Santamaria claimed the bronze medals.
British placings: Ren 12th, Richards II 30th & Alvares Peres 32nd.
Men’s Cadet Individual Sabre Results
Day 6
Junior Women’s Team Sabre
Great Britain lined up with Chart, Corby, Maxwell and Potter amongst a field of twenty-eight. Ranked twelfth, they faced Turkey and lost 45-27 in the round of 32 to finish nineteenth.
Russia claimed the World title beating the USA in the final as Italy beat Korea for the bronze medal.
Women’s Junior Team Sabre Results
Junior Men’s Team Sabre
The field of thirty-eight included Great Britain who lined up with Edwards, Halliwell, Howes and Suddards. Ranked eleventh they had a bye through the round of 64 and went on to beat Saudia Arabia 45-36 and World number six team, Japan 45-40 before taking on World number three, Germany.
Edwards, Howes and Suddards lined up against the Germans and trailed 15-13 after three legs. A great fifth leg from Suddards turned the match around as he outscored Haag 10-4 to put Britain 25-24 up. Edwards and Howes kept the momentum with the British team before Kindler had a great penultimate leg. Suddards went into the anchor leg against Bonah with a 45-37 lead and saw it out, winning 45-44 – the biggest upset of the day.
Russia were too strong for the British team in the semi-finals, winning 45-23 so Britain went on to face the USA in the bronze medal play-off. The Americans came out strongly leading 15-8 after three legs and 30-16 after six. There was nothing the British team could do in the final three bouts as America claimed the bronze medal with a 45-21 victory.
Italy came from behind to beat Russia to the gold medal.
Men’s Junior Team Sabre Results
Day 7
Junior Individual Women’s Foil
Four British fencers lined up in the field of one hundred and forty-one. Seville Babaeva (V3D2) and Arianna Balestrieri (V2D3) qualified for the knockout stages but Alice Campbell (V1D5) and Heloise Hardie (V1D5) did not make the first round cut. The remaining British fencers were eliminated in the round of 128 as Budenko (UKR0 defeated Babaeva 15-7 and Balestrieri lost 15-6 to Cao (CAN).
Yuka Ueno of Japan claimed the first foil title of the championships by beating Italian Martina Faveretto in the final. Eva Lacheray of France shared the bronze medals with American Lauren Scruggs.
British placings: Babaeva 72nd, Balestrieri 89th, Campbell 111th & Hardie 123rd.
Women’s Junior Individual Foil Results
Junior Individual Men’s Foil
The field of one hundred and eighty-eight included four more British fencers. Connor Head (V5D1), Ben Bates (V4D2), Dominic De Almeida (V2D3) and Harry Bird (V2D4) all made the knockout stages. All four went through the round of 256 – Head and Bates both received byes and De Almeida beat Rosenfeld (ISR) 15-7 whilst Bird defeated Toro (PUR) 15-14. Head went on to beat Yu (HKG) 15-6 but Bates fell 15-6 to Gu (CAN), Galuashvili (GEO) beat De Almeida 15-10 and Borodachev (RUS) took out Bird 15-8. Head’s day ended in the round of 64 when he lost 15-8 to Mao (CHN).
Nick Itkin of the USA beat Italy’s Tomasso Marini to claim the championship title as American Sidarth Kumbla and Grigoriy Semenyuk of Russia took the bronze medals.
British placings: Head 42nd=, Bates 76th, De Almeida 111th & Bird 119th.
Men’s Junior Individual Foil Results
Day 8
Cadet Individual Women’s Foil
There were three British fencers in this event amongst a field of one hundred and fourteen. Amy Home (V4D1), Phoebe Newton-Hughes (V2D3) and Bronwen Granville (V3D2) all made the first round cut. Home benefited from a bye through the round of 128 as Newton-Hughes beat Zeboudj (ALG) 15-9 and Granville defeated Murawska (POL) 11-9. All three went out in the next round with Huang (CHN) beating Home 15-4, Tieu (USA) defeating Newton-Hughes 15-3 and Granville losing 15-8 to Dhuique-Hein (GER).
Yuka Ueno of Japan completed the Cadet-Junior double by claiming the title after beating American May Tieu in the final. The bronze medals went to Delphine Devore of the USA and Italian Martina Faveretto who had to withdraw on medical grounds in her semi-final against the eventual champion.
British placings: Home 38th, Newton-Hughes 59th & Granville 47th.
Women’s Cadet Individual Foil Results
Cadet Individual Men’s Foil
There were another three fencers in this event forming part of the one hundred and thirty-nine strong field. Cameron Evans (V5D1) and William Lonsdale (V4D2) qualified for the elimination rounds but Rafael Rhys-Pollitt (V1D5) did not. In the round of 128 Evans beat Briceno (VEN) 15-8 and Lonsdale defeated Allegue (TUN) 15-11. Lonsdale then lost 15-6 to Lim (SGP) but Evans progressed with a 12-11 victory over Horvath (HUN). Evans day ended in the round of 32, going down 15-9 to Cerwantes (MEX).
American Kenji Bravo picked up the last individual title of the championships beating teammate Marcello Olivares in the gold medal match. Maciej Bem of Poland and Mexican Diego Cervantes collected the bronze medals.
British placings: Evans 25th, Lonsdale 57th & Rhys Pollitt 113th.
Men’s Cadet Individual Foil Results
Day 9
Junior Team Women’s Foil
Ranked eleventh, the British team lined up with Seville Babaeva, Arianna Balestrieri, Alice Campbell and Heloise Hardie in a field of twenty-six. In the round of 32 they beat Algeria 45-21 before losing 45-9 to Russia. In the placings matches they lost 45-36 to Hong Kong, 45-33 to Romania and 45-15 to China to finish sixteenth.
The USA beat Singapore to take the World title as Germany beat Italy to the bronze medal.
Women’s Junior Team Foil Results
Junior Team Men’s Team Foil
The field of thirty-eight in the final event included Great Britain who lined up with Ben Bates, Harry Bird, Dominic De Almeida and Connor Head. They were ranked eleventh so had a bye through the round of 64 before going on to beat Puerto Rico 45-16 and Poland 43-42 to make the quarterfinals. The French team was too strong, making the semi-finals with a 45-30 victory. In the placings matches, Britain lost 45-40 to Belgium and then 45-27 to Germany to finish eighth.
Russia defeated France to claim the final gold medal of the World Championships as the USA team claimed the bronze medal beating Japan in the play-off.
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