Louis Battles her way to Bronze and GBR 3 Stun Italy on route to the Podium

Avery Louis made a big mark in Copenhagen at the weekend by claiming the bronze medal at the European Fencing Confederation Cadet Epee event.  She stormed through her first round poule, dropping just one fight from six, meaning that she went into the elimination stages ranked sixth.

A bye through the round of 128 was followed by a 15-2 demolition of Christensen (DEN), a 15-11 victory over Lage (EST) and then a 15-9 win over teammate Black, to make the quarterfinals.  There she met Fazzani (ITA) and with the support of the British team Avery took a slender lead only to be pegged back by the first break.  The Brit opened up another lead in the second period before the Italian called for an injury break.  Avery held her concentration and took a 12-8 lead into the second break.  After consulting her coach, Tamas Kovacs, she fought her way to a 15-10 victory and a guaranteed medal.

Her semi-final against Finnish fencer, Outi Jaakola was a tight affair throughout.  Avery edged the first period but went into the break tied at 6-6.  The Finn edged the second period to lead 9-8 and then pulled away in the final period to win 15-10.

Speaking after the event, Avery said, “I feel it is always an absolute honour to represent Great Britain in an international fencing tournament.  Copenhagen was particularly poignant for me, as it was my last Cadet Circuit competition.  What a way to finish!  I look forward to representing Great Britain in Sochi and Verona, for the European and the World Championships.”

Jaakola went on to win the tournament, beating Cristina Constantinescu (ROU) in the final.  Avery shared the bronze medal with Karol-Liina Glinken (EST).

The medal haul was not over though as Great Britain had four entries into the team event.  GBR 3 (Abagael Black, Eva Reston and Isabella Summers) took out Estonia 2 45-39 in the round of 16 before facing number one seeds, Italy 1 in the quarterfinals.  A remarkable performance saw them ease to a 45-36 victory before losing 45-33 to Sweden in the semi-finals.

They were not to walk away empty-handed though as they took on Estonia 3 for the bronze medal.  A 45-38 victory saw them secure their podium spot.