Senior European Championships 2012 – Day 5 & 6
Germany and Russia take the gold medals as Britain get a second medal
The Men’s Foil and Women’s Sabre team events took place on the penultimate day of the Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.
Men’s Foil Team
The men’s foil team event was first up on day five of the European Championships with 15 entries including one from Great Britain – Davis, Kruse, Mepstead and Cook (res).
Great Britain easily beat Israel 45-31 in the round of 16 with Cook coming on for Mepstead in the seventh leg. It was a close encounter in the quarter final against the world number 6 team France but a determined British team saw them off 45-37. They faced Poland in the semi-finals who had already knocked out the world number 1 team, Italy in the previous round. Another close match followed which Poland won 45-43. Russia lost to Germany in the other semi-final which meant they faced Britain for the bronze medal. The Russians had never lost to Britain but with Davis, Kruse and Mepstead all on form they took the bronze medal 45-33. Full medal report here.
Germany (Bachmann, Braun, Joppich and Gustinello (res)) won the event beating Poland (Glonek, Kawiecki, Rajewski and Majewski (res)) 45-39 in the final to take the European title. Taking the lead for the first time in the fifth leg, Germany never looked back.
Women’s Sabre
The second event on day five of the championships was the Women’s Sabre team event with 8 teams fighting off for the title. Great Britain did not enter a team.
The bronze medal match was between Italy and Poland who had lost to Russia and Ukraine, respectively, in the semi-finals. It was an amazing match with Italy seemingly easing to victory until the ninth leg when Aleksandra Socha came on to anchor the Polish team against Vecchi (ITA). Italy held a 40-30 lead but Socha scored eight unanswered hits in a row before Vecchi registered a hit. Socha brought the scores level but was heartbroken as Vecchi managed to get Italy across the line, 45-44.
Unsurprisingly the gold medal match was between Russia and Ukraine. Russia led 15-7 after three bouts but Kharlan had a great fifth leg scoring 13-5 and by the end of the sixth Ukraine only trailed by two hits, 30-28. Komaschick (UKR) gave anchor Kharlan a 40-39 lead going into the last fight but Dyanchenko (RUS) took the fight 6-5 to give Russia the title.
The final day will feature team events in Women’s Epee and Men’s Sabre.
DAY 6
Italy top the medal table
The final events of the European Championships were the Women’s Epee and Men’s Sabre team events.
Women’s Epee Team
Fifteen teams took part in the women’s epee team event on the last day at the European Championships in Zagreb, Croatia. Great Britain did not enter a team.
The bronze medal went to Hungary who beat the Italian team 28-25. With four periods of non-combativity the match was over very quickly. Hungary took the lead in the fourth match and never lost it. In the gold medal match Estonia faced Romania. Branza led out the Romanian team to a 4-2 lead after the first bout but Embrich took Estonia into a -7-6 lead after two legs. Several periods of non-combativity followed but Estonia clung to the lead. Going into the final leg Estonia led 12-10 but Branza came on for Romania chasing the title down. Embrich anchored for Estonia and out-scored the Romanian 15-10. Estonia took the title 27-20.
Men’s Sabre Team
Thirteen teams entered the men’s sabre team event including one from Great Britain – Aiyenuro, Crutchett and Honeybone with Miller as reserve. They faced Ukraine in the round of 16 and despite a strong performance from the entire team, Ukraine progressed 45-31. In the placing matches Britain defeated Spain 45-33 but then lost to Belarus 45-37 to finish tenth.
The bronze medal went to Ukraine who beat Romania 45-36 in the third place play off. They took the lead after four bouts and ran away with the match. In the gold medal match Italy faced Hungary and the lead changed hands several times. A storming 8-3 leg from Szilagyi put the Romanians 30-28 but Berre replied for Italy with a 7-4 leg and the Italians never lost the lead. They took the last title of the event 45-40.
The next major Championships for these teams will be the World Championships starting on August 5th in Budapest, Hungary.
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