Junior European Championships 2020 Report

No British Medals but Continued Signs of Development

The Junior European Championships took place in Porec, Croatia, 27 February – 2 March.  Here is our report about how our British fencers performed at one of the biggest international events in the calendar.

Day 1

Men’s Epee

The event began with the Junior Men’s Epee tournament and there were four British fencers in a field of 103.  Benjamin Andrews (Plymouth) and James Jeal (Derbyshire Fencing Academy) came through the first round with four victories from six fights whilst Billy Shepherd (Skipton) and Aurelio Calipa (Brixton) both scored two wins from six.

Andrews and Jeal both had byes through the round of 128 but Coufal (CZE) beat Shepherd 15-11 and Calipa lost 15-8 to Noganowicz (POL).  Jeal was knocked out in the next round by European number 3 Piatti (ITA) 15-7.  Andrews continued beating Hamilton-Meike (HUN) 15-8, then the fourth seed Calderon (ESP) 15-14 and Osicka (CZE) 15-8 to make the quarterfinals.  He just missed out on a medal, falling to European number 24 Messien (FRA) 15-13.

Egor Lomaga (RUS) won the first Junior European title beating Filippo Armaleo (ITA) 15-14 in the gold medal match as Alexis Messien shared the bronze medal position with Dmitrii Shvelidze (RUS).

GBR placings:  Andrews 8, Jeal 41, Shepherd 72= & Calipa 76.

Women’s Sabre

The field of 63 in this event included four British fencers.  Elsie Llewellyn (Sancroft Blades) won four of her six first-round matches and Hannah O’Reilly (MX Fencing) won two from six – both made the cut.  Sophia Potter (Shakespeare Swords) and Ellen Robbins-Wilkinson (Marshall Fencing) did not win any poule matches and were eliminated.

In the round of 64 Ahadova (AZE) edged Llewellyn out 15-13 and Kliuchnikova (RUS) defeated O’Reilly 15-6, ending British hopes in this event.

Yoana Ilieva (BUL) took the title in commanding fashion beating Dariya Drozd (RUS) 15-6 in the final.  Alessia Di Carlo (ITA) and Ilinka Pantis (ROU) collected the bronze medals.

GBR placings:  Llewellyn 36, O’Reilly 46, Potter 59 & Robbins-Wilkinson 60.

Day 2

Men’s Foil

The second day of the Championships began with a field of 72 in the Men’s Foil individual event which included four British fencers.  Cameron Evans (Fencing Academy of Westchester & ZFW) won four of his five first round matches, William Lonsdale (Louth Fencing Club) and Isaac Jolley (Chichester Fencing Club) took two wins from six but Matthew Abrahams (ZFW) did not win any fights.

In the round of 64 Evans beat teammate Lonsdale 15-12 and Jolley defeated Jan Kohneke (NED) 15-10.  In the next round Jolley knocked out Borowiak (GER) 15-11 but Evans fell 15-5 to Fabinger (GER).  In the round of 16 Jolley fought back from behind to force his match against Giacon (NED) into a priority minute but lost 10-9.

Kirill Borodachev (RUB) won the European title, beating twin brother Anton 15-13 in the final as Maciej Bem (POL) and Marek Totusek (CZE) took the bronze medals.

GBR placings:  Jolley 16, Evans 20, Lonsdale 52 & Abrahams 67.

Women’s Epee

Eighty-nine athletes took part in this event including another four from Great Britain.  Rachel Lever (OPS Epee Club) won all four of her six first round matches, Alexandra Powell (Malvern Hills) took three from six and Laura Sheffield (Brixton) won two out of six – all making the elimination stages.  Louise Sadler (Malvern Hills) did not win any first-round matches and was eliminated.

British hopes ended in the round of 64 as Powell lost 15-5 to Kowalczyk (ITA), European number four Loit (EST) beat Lever 15-10 and Europe’s top Junior Traditi (ITA) defeated Sheffield 15-10.

Veronika Bieleskova (CZE) claimed the European title with a 15-14 victory over Lil Buki (HUN) in the final.  Eszter Muhari (HUN) and Gaia Traditi (ITA) picked up the bronze medals.

GBR placings:  Lever 41, Powell 51=, Sheffield 62 & Sadler 76.

Day 3

Women’s Foil

There were four more British fencers in this event amongst a field of sixty-two.  Mhairi McLaughlin (Salle Holyrood) won four of her six first round matches whilst Bronwen Granville (Bath Swords) took three from six and both made the elimination stages.  Teagan Williams-Stewart (Newham Swords) won two from six and Phoebe Newton-Hughes (Allez Fencing) took one from six, both missing the cut.

McLaughlan had a bye through the round of 64 but Granville lost 15-6 to Andreyenka (BLR).  McLaughlan then faced the European number seven, Pertova (RUS) and was knocked out 15-5.

European number one, Martina Favaretto (ITA) lived up to her billing, claiming the Championship title with a 15-8 victory over teammate Vittoria Ciampalini.  Maria-Eleni Chaldaiou (GRE) and Emilia Corbu (ROU) collected the bronze medals.

GBR placings:  McLaughlin 21, Granville 42, Williams-Stewart 49 & Newton-Hughes 57.

Men’s Sabre

There were sixty-eight fencers in this event including four from Great Britain.  Barnaby Halliwell (Shakespeare Swords) and Julian Richards II (Leon Paul Sabre) both won four of their six first round matches and Luke Haynes (Truro) took one from four.  All three made the elimination phase.  Alexander Le Maitre (Guernsey Fencing Academy) won one fight from six and was eliminated.

In the round of 64, Richards II beat Seefeld (GER) 15-9 but Halliwell lost 15-13 to European number 16, Marciano (ITA) and Hryciuk (POL) knocked out Haynes 15-7.  In the next round Pysarenko (UKR) defeated Richards II 15-13 ending British interest in the event.

Vasyl Humen (UKR) took the last of the individual Junior titles beating Luca Fioretto (ITA) 15-14 in the final as Krisztian Rabb (HUN) and Kirill Tyulyukov (RUS) won the bronze medals.

GBR placings:  Richards II 19, Halliwell 34=, Haynes 52 & Le Maitre 58.

Day 4

Men’s Team Epee

Ranked eleventh, Great Britain lined up with Andrews, Calipa, Jeal & Shepherd in a field of twenty-one teams.  A bye through the round of 32 was followed by a 45-34 defeat to the number six team France.  In the placings matches Great Britain beat Estonia 45-42 before losing 45-35 to Azerbaijan and 45-33 to Ukraine to finish twelfth.

Russia went on to win the tournament beating Italy in the final as France beat Hungary in the bronze medal match.

Men’s Team Foil

Ranked fourth, Great Britain lined up with Abrahams, Evans, Jolley & Lonsdale in a field of fourteen teams.  In the round of 16, they narrowly missed out to Romania 45-42.  In the placings matches they beat Turkey 45-38, lost 43-42 to Sweden but then beat Spain 45-24 to finish eleventh.

Russia went on to win the title beating Italy in the final as Poland claimed bronze with victory over Denmark.

Women’s Team Sabre

The field of thirteen in this event included Great Britain.  The lineup, Llewellyn, O’Rielly, Potter & Robbins-Wilkinson were ranked twelfth and faced a tough first match against number five seeds, Turkey.  They lost 45-32 before beating Belgium 45-40 but then lost 45-37 to Ukraine and 45-44 to Spain to finish twelfth.

Hungary won the European title by beating Russia in the final as Turkey took the bronze medal with victory over Romania.

Day 5

Women’s Team Epee

Ranked eleventh, Great Britian lined up with Lever, Powell, Sadler & Sheffield in a field of eighteen.  The team had a bye through the round of 32 but then lost 45-23 to Poland.  In the placings matches they lost 45-38 to Belgium and then beat Turkey 45-36 and Sweden 44-43 to finish thirteenth.

Russia beat Poland to claim the European title with Hungary taking bronze by beating Italy in the play-off.

Women’s Team Foil

Ranked seventh, the Great Britain team lined up with Granville, McLaughlin, Newton-Hughes & Williams-Stewart in a field of thirteen.  They faced Turkey in the round of 16 and lost 45-41.  A bye through the first placings match was followed by victories over Israel 45-40 and Latvia by the same score to finish ninth.

Russia beat Italy to claim the European title with Germany taking bronze by beating Poland in the play-off match.

Men’s Team Sabre

Great Britain entered the final team event of these Championships ranked eighth in a field of fifteen.  Halliwell, Haynes, Le Maitre & Richards II faced Belgium in the round of 16 and lost 45-31.  A bye through the first placings match was followed by defeat 45-34 at the hand of Georgia before claiming a 45-30 victory against the Netherlands to finish eleventh.

Hungary beat ITA to claim the European title with Russia taking bronze by beating Germany.

Full results for the tournament can be found here.

Many of the athletes who attended are part of the British Fencing Athlete Development Programme, funded by Sport England: https://www.sportengland.org/.  More information about ADP camps, programmes and updates can be found here: https://www.britishfencing.com/gbr-fencing/gbr-development-programmes/gbr-athlete-development-programme/