Jaimie Cook took gold at the final Junior World Cup of the season in Sabadell, Spain on Saturday, February 18th. The victory is the first time that Great Britain have topped the podium at a Men’s Foil Junior World Cup since Jamie Fitzgerald won in Aix-en-Provence in 2009.
Ranked thirty-two in a field of one hundred and eight, Cook won all of his first-round fights, dropping just six hits. As top seed he earned a bye through the round of 128 and went on to beat Piosik (POL) 15-4, Guma (ESP) bye the same score, Proietti (ITA) 15-9 and winner of the last World Cup, Abdeljalil (FRA) 15-14 to make the semi-finals.
He further demonstrated his progress this season by beating World bronze medallist Iacomoni(ITA) 15-8 in the semi-finals. This set up a final with winner of Udine World Cup, Franzoni(ITA). The Italian took control of the fight with a series of well-timed beat attacks and led 10-4 with half of the first period still remaining. A determined Cook slowed the match down with clever footwork allowing him more time to prepare his own attacks. The tactic worked but he trailed 12-8 with under a minute of the first period remaining. Showing true grit he pegged the Italian back to 13-13 only for Franzoni to pick him off with another beat attack. A resilient Cook fought back with a successful attack in the middle before saving the best until last. He sealed victory with a stunning counter-riposte to the Italian’s back.
Speaking after the event, his proud father and coach – a former GB international fencer – Keith said, “It’s all about the process. Jaimie showed grit and determination and started the day as he meant to go on. Nothing worth having comes easy though and he had to beat two of this season’s World Cup winners plus the World Championship bronze medallist. This is fantastic preparation leading into the European Championships.”
Adoul (ITA) shared the bronze medal position with Iacomoni and the full results are available here.
Jaimie is one of the 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 begin on Tuesday in Tallin, Estonia and you can follow the live results from the official website.
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