World Ranking Boost for Londoner James Davis

Londoner James Davis, 24, boosted his world ranking by winning the gold medal at the individual Men’s Foil World Cup in Bonn on Saturday.  He faced Miles Chamley-Watson (USA) in the final and romped to a 15-9 victory.  By securing an early lead in the fight he was able to control the match throughout, earning valuable individual ranking points in the race to Rio 2016.

Speaking straight after the medal ceremony Davis said; “Job done today!  I stayed focused and in the moment all day.  I just kept my focus on each touch.  I will have a good rest tonight and then move on to the next job which is beating Germany in the team event tomorrow morning.”

Davis had to beat teammate, Alex Tofalides on his way to the podium before knocking out three strong Italian fencers.  It was a good day for the other members of the British squad as Richard Kruse and Marcus Mepstead both secured top sixteen finishes.

British Fencing’s Performance Director, Alex Newton was happy with the results in Bonn and said; “James fenced fantastically well all day – it was just brilliant to watch.  Now the focus turns to the team event in the morning when we fence Germany.”

Great Britain are targeting qualifying a men’s foil team for Rio 2016 and are currently in a tight battle with their opponents (the Germans) tomorrow.  The Bonn World Cup is the final team qualification event so the outcome will be known on Sunday evening.  Should they not succeed British hopes rest on another tight battle, this time between between Davis and Kruse for individual qualification.

Watch the action live here and you can also see online results.