MCCORMACK GETS BRONZE IN COPENHAGEN
Maisie McCormack claims bronze at EFC Cadet Circuit Event
Sixteen year old, Maisie McCormack from Oundle, Peterborough & Stamford Fencing Club won the bronze medal at the European Fencing Confederation Cadet Epee circuit event in Copenhagen at the weekend.
In a field of one hundred and twenty-six, McCormack performed well in the poules by winning four of her six fights. Ranked 29th for the elimination stages she went on to win a remarkable four consecutive fights 15-14. First she took out Carado (PHI), followed by Ermenkova (BUL), the number four seed, Constantinescu (ROU) and Semiannikov (ISR).
In the quarterfinals she faced Moroianu (ROU) and the pair took the first period to non-combativity with no score. The Romanian closed the distance in the second period which allowed both fencers to score hits but nothing separated them at the second break. They went into the third period at 9-9. A double was followed by a quick attack from McCormack and with 13 seconds left on the clock the Romanian was forced to attack. McCormack surprised her by attacking herself and opened up the gap to 13-10 before reverting to a more defensive tactic. A parry riposte and counter were executed perfectly for McCormack to win 15-11.
Her semi-final opponent Paula Zugasti (ESP) dominated the fight and won 15-3. She then went on to win the competition, beating Emilie Gabutti (SUI) in the final. McCormack shared the bronze medal position with Selma Abu Eid Tjulin (SWE).
Speaking after the event, McCormack said, “It’s been a tough start to the season but I’m so pleased with this weekend’s result. I have a lot to work on moving forward. I felt more positive going into each match and can’t wait to carry on working on what I have learned.”
Coach, Chris Howser added, “Following 15-14 wins in the 128, 64, 32 & 16. The fight against Moroianu seemed like a walk in the park. It was far from it. Amazing match!”
In the same event, Eva Reston made the quarterfinals, losing 15-10 to Gabutti. In the men’s cadet epee tournament, there was a quarterfinal placing for Jacob Foulsham. He lost to Fuhrimann (SUI) 15-14 and the Swiss fencer went on to claim silver, losing to Vladimir Tolasov (RUS) in the final.
There were fourth place finishes for Great Britain in the both the men’s and women’s events. The men’s team of Philip Dobson, Foulsham, James Jeal & Joseph Walmsley lost to Spain 45-40 in the bronze medal play-off. In the women’s event, Eve Golden, Keira Papadopoulos and Reston missed out on bronze, losing 45-34 to Switzerland 1.
The DT team running the competition were representatives from British Fencing and are proud to share the following statistics from across the event…
Full Copenhagen results available here.
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