CADET MEN’S EPEE TEAM SECURE EUROPEAN BRONZE

Great Britain’s Cadet Men’s Epee team claimed Bronze on day three of the European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia.

Ranked fourth, Great Britain lined up with Cador Beautyman, Tristan Lumineau, Sameer Sunder-Rajan and Cheney Zhu, receiving a bye through the incomplete round of 32. They fell behind against Norway in the next round but turned the match around in the middle as all four fencers were deployed to make the quarterfinals with a 45-39 victory.

Next, they took on a closely matched Ukrainian team, some of whom have been training in Great Britain. Changing the starting line-up, Great Britain fell behind again, finding themselves 30-27 down with three legs to go. The use of all four team members proved telling as they went on to win 45-30, giving themselves two shots at a medal.

It was a tough semi-final against top seeds Italy with Great Britain falling behind 14-11 early on and despite matching their oppenents in the closing stages, lost 45-40. This set up a third place play-off with third seeds, Poland.

Beautyman, Lumineau and Sunder Rajan started well leading 15-11 and 30-21 before the coach brought in the reserve Zhu in the seventh leg. Yet again, full use of the team paid off and they secured the bronze medal 45-28.

Team member Cador said,

“I’m immensely proud of the team and what we’ve achieved both at the European Championships and this European season with our successes medaling at other events. The team dynamics and flexibility really came through and we had some great wins against top teams like Ukraine and Poland. Fantastic way to end the European season.”

Weapon Lead Ian Lichfield said,

“To win a medal at this event, this team was impressive. The GBR Cadet team had not competed as a four at the other EFC events until this result. In preparation for the competition, the fencers came to the December ADP camp to connect and operate as a team.

“The victory over Ukraine in the last eight was a tremendous feat of mental toughness and control. Italy defeated the GBR team as they made fewer errors, but the GBR team’s determination to win the medal showed against Poland. The athletes were dominant from the first leg and powered through and deservedly took Bronze.

“A special thanks to Tamas Kovacs (Knightsbridge Fencing Club) and Oana Puiu (Leon Paul Project and Salle Paul) for their support of the team.”

The full results are available here.

Cador, Cheney, Sameer and Tristan are young athletes on the British Fencing Athlete Development Programme, funded by Sport England. More information about ADP camps, programmes and updates can be found here.

The Cadet and Junior European Championships began on the 21st February in Tallinn, Estonia, and you can follow the live results from the official website.

Photo: #BizziTeam

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