At an unprecedented Cadet & Junior Euros, our teams made history by becoming the first-ever GBR Junior European Champions.
On the first day of the Junior team events, our Junior Men’s Epee team of Cador Beautyman, Alec Brooke, Tristan Lumineau and Sameer Sunder-Rajan made history becoming the first-ever European Champions in the team event.
They overcame reigning champions Italy in a tense last eight match, winning 45-44, followed by a decisive 45-38 victory over Spain. Heading into the final against France, the two teams stayed toe-to-toe. With the score 34-31 to France in the final period, Alec Brooke made an extraordinary comeback with only seconds to spare, taking the team to 44-44. In the priority minute, he scored the final touch for GBR.
After their victory, the team were ecstatic. Tristan said:
“This day honestly feels surreal. Being part of the first ever team gold in a Euro Championship is an absolute honour.”
Cador said:
“Over the moon with our results today. Just happy to do it with such a great group of guys and to do it for the team. Being the first team in British Fencing history to win a major championship is a really cool feeling.”
Sameer added:
“I feel absolutely honoured to be part of the first team to win gold at a major championship and can only hope to do so again in the future.”
Alec, competing at his last Junior European Championships, admitted that the feeling still hadn’t sunk in:
“The fact we are European Champions just feels unreal. The day couldn’t have gone any better. The four of us all played a huge part in our win and each one of us had special moments. The fact I’ve ended my last Junior Euros with a win is an incredible feeling and the final was definitely my favourite fencing match ever.”
The Junior Men’s Epee squad weren’t the only team to secure a medal. Megan Elliott, Isabella Johnson, Amelie Tsang and Zoë Wagstaff won bronze, likewise making history as the first Junior Women’s Foil team to claim a medal at the European Championships.
First, the team defeated Germany and Hungary. Despite being defeated by a strong France team in the semi-finals, the team returned in full force for the bronze medal play-off against Poland. The match came down to a nail-biting finish, with Amelie Tsang scoring the final touch with seconds to spare, taking the team to bronze with a 43-42 victory.
Following their win, the team commented:
“Three times a charm! We have worked so hard for three years, and in the last two Euro Champs we have come away with 4th place. This time, we had no intention of leaving without a medal. We had a shaky start, but once we found our rhythm we knocked out a top Hungarian team, beating them for the first time this season.
“Sadly France were a little strong this time but we clinched bronze by one hit to make history. We are so elated with our bronze and want to thank our team coach Ben, our physio Ollie and our Chef Pat. We couldn’t have done it without them. We are looking forward to using this confidence at next month’s World Champs.”
The final day of the European Championships saw another GBR team make history as the Junior Men’s Foil team became European Champions. Going into the event as the 2nd seed, the team of Jaimie Cook, David Kelly, Callum Penman and David Sosnov maintained a strong performance throughout the day, defeating both the Netherlands and Hungary.
The final was particularly impressive. GBR took the lead for most of the match, putting up a strong performance against France. They closed out the match with a decisive 45-29 victory, showing confidence and composure all the while.
David Sosnov described being a European Champion as an incredible feeling:
“This is a culmination of hard work, across many seasons and I’m so happy to share it with the most incredible group of boys.”
Coach Keith Cook said:
“It’s been four years in the making. They’ve faced France before and just missed out. What an amazing day it’s been for the boys.”
An incredible moment for GBR that will go down in history, and promises a very bright future for our athletes.
For our cadet (U17) fencers, the opportunity to compete at a European Championships is a significant step in their fencing journeys. For many, it is their first experience competing at a major international event, offering them a great opportunity for learning.
Particular mention goes to the Cadet Men’s Foil team of Mohammed Belbouab, Ashley Crees, Luca Florea and Yaqub Wagdi. They faced a strong Italy team in the semi-finals and, despite a 45-40 defeat, the team showed excellent resilience. The final period saw Mohammed face Marco Panazzolo, where he managed an impressive 12 touches. This strength was repeated in the bronze medal play-off against Hungary. Although the team narrowly missed out on a podium place, they did not make the match easy as they came for a comeback towards the end.
There were some excellent individual performances throughout the week. Amelie Tsang and Alec Brooke both placed in the last 16 in the Women’s Foil and Men’s Epee. In the Men’s Foil, Jaimie Cook and Callum Penman also finished in the top 8, placing 5th and 8th respectively.
Beyond results, the squad demonstrated the BF values of honesty, respect and excellence throughout the event. Special mention goes to epeeist Grace O’Neill.
At her first European Championships, Grace achieved a personal best with a top 32 finish. She was selected for the World Championships in Wuxi, however due to a recent finger injury and knowing that she wouldn’t have much time to prepare, Grace felt that another athlete would benefit from the opportunity and chose to give up her place. No doubt a difficult decision to make and a great display of selflessness from Grace.
Grace’s actions illustrate the qualities and values of the GBR squad, as illustrated in the Call It Attitude handbook, which outlines what is involved in becoming a successful GBR Olympic and Paralympic fencing athlete.
Call It Attitude serves an in-depth guide for athletes, parents, coaches and supporters that describes the journey through BF’s Sport England funded GBR Pathway (formerly ADP) programme. As well as guidance, Call It Attitude seeks to illustrate the meaning behind BF’s philosophy of a ‘Fencer-Centred, Development-Driven, Competition-Supported’ programme. Fencers and their support networks of coaches, clubs and families are encouraged to be the best versions of themselves.
A huge congratulations to all fencers for their performances throughout the European Championships. Our athletes not only performed brilliantly but encouraged and cheered each other on, producing a supportive squad culture.
Photos: #BizziTeam
Event photos from the 2025 Cadet & Junior European Championships.
See the full results for 2025 Junior European Championships.
See the full results for the 2025 Cadet European Championships.
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