Canadian Fencers Finish on Top in Junior/Cadet Pan American Championships in Puerto Rico

By admin February 12, 2013

With a total of 15 medals ( 3 gold, 4 silver, 8 bronze) in individual competition and 5 medals in team competition (2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze), Canada finished first out of 17 participating countries at the Junior/Cadet Pan American Championships held Feb. 6-11, 2013 in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Mexico finished second and the USA third in this zone Championship with important point and seeding implications for the 2013 Junior World Championships.


“This Pan American Championship is a phenomenal experience for our cadet and junior athletes to learn how to win,” noted Paul ApSimon, a 2012 Olympic Games Coach and the current Weapon Leader for Foil. “This event will help to prepare our athletes for other international events. The intensity of fencing with the Latin American countries is wonderful for our fencers to feel first hand.”
Reaching the top of the podium for Canada included: Eleanor Harvey (Hamilton, ON) in Women’s Junior Foil, Philippe Heidecker (Gatineau, QC) in Men’s Cadet Epee, Marc-Antoine Blais-Belanger (Montreal, QC) in Men’s Junior Epee and the teams for Women’s Junior Foil and Men’s Junior Foil.


The women’s Junior Foil team swept the podium in individual competition and won gold in the team event. As a result, Canada now has two athletes ranked top 8 in the FIE World Junior rankings. Alanna Goldie who won both bronze (individual) and gold (team event) in Puerto Rico, is now ranked 5th in the world, with event double gold medalist (individual and team) Eleanor Harvey just behind her in 6th spot.


“This event was well organized and fun,” stated Alanna Goldie(Calgary, AB), who won Canada’s first ever gold medal in foil at a World Cup event in December. “Overall I was happy with my results at this tournament and it’s playing an important role in my preparation for the Junior World Championships in April.”


Men’s Saber athlete Cédric Boutet (Rosemère, QC), who won both a bronze (individual) and silver (team), and is in his last year as a junior had this to say about the event: “This tournament was a very good experience, to be able to perform at an international level with all of the Americans here. The chance to be here and to win is very good for us and for me in particular as I transition to the senior level now with more confidence.”


Outside of the medals, Canada had 7 additional athletes finish top 8 in individual competition, making the future look bright for high performance fencing in Canada.


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A full list of participating athletes, their results and their hometowns is provided below.
For further information, please contact:
Caroline Sharp, Executive Director, Canadian Fencing Federation, [email protected], 613-323-5605.

CADET MEN EPEE
Philippe Heidecker 		(Gatineau, QC)		GOLD
Isaac Velestuk 			(Delta, BC)		BRONZE

CADET WOMEN EPEE
Nancy (Qian) Ye 		(Markham, ON)		SILVER
Leyla-Élise Couture 		(Rimouski, QC)		8th

CADET MEN FOIL
Patrick Dula 			(Saskatoon, SK)	SILVER
Connor Hopkins 		(North Vancouver, BC)	BRONZE
Mikhail Sweet 			(Winnipeg, BC)		10th

CADET WOMEN FOIL
Elizabeth Hurtubise 		(St-Thérèse, QC)	BRONZE
Sofya Romashina 		(Richmond, BC)		7th
Zoe Loh 			(Toronto, ON)		9th

CADET MEN SABER
Jihad Kabbaj 			(Montréal, QC)		BRONZE
Cameron Mackay 		(Kamloops, BC)		9th
William Kinney 			(Mississauga, ON)	18th

CADET WOMEN SABER
Véronique Lamarre 		(Blainville, QC)		SILVER
Frédérique Bourget 		(Blainville, QC)		6th
Tatiana Gayowsky 		(Hamilton, ON)		9th
Maia Stempien 			(Saskatoon, SK)	17th

JUNIOR MEN EPEE
Marc-Antoine Blais-Belanger 	(Montréal, QC)		GOLD
Isaac Velestuk 			(Delta, BC)		11th
Philippe Heidecker		(Gatineau, QC)		13th

JUNIOR WOMEN EPEE
Malinka Hoppe Montanaro	(Montréal, QC)		BRONZE
Andrée-Anne Paquet 		(Blainville, QC)		5th
Vanessa Lacas-Warrick 	(Chelsea, QC)		8th
Brittany Mark-Larkin 		(Montréal, QC)		9th

JUNIOR MEN FOIL
Marc-Antoine Brodeur 		(Boucherville, QC) 	BRONZE
Alastair Keyes 			(Ottawa, ON)		6th
François-Olivier David 		(Sainte-Julie, QC)	11th
Michael Hastings-Grgas 	(King City, ON)		26th

JUNIOR WOMEN FOIL
Eleanor Harvey 			(Hamilton, ON) 		GOLD
Pamela Brind'Amour 		(Sainte-Martine, QC) 	SILVER
Alanna Goldie 			(Calgary, AB) 		BRONZE
Sofya Romashina 		(Richmond, BC)		19th

JUNIOR MEN SABER
Cédric Boutet 			(Rosemère, QC) 	BRONZE
Cameron Mackay 		(Winnipeg, MB) 		5th
Jihad Kabbaj 			(Montréal, QC) 		19th
William Kinney 			(Mississauga, ON)	23rd
 
JUNIOR WOMEN SABER
Véronique Lamarre 		(Blainville, QC)		13th
Lily Jiang 			(Edmonton, AB)		17th
Frédérique Bourget 		(Blainville, QC)		20th
Tatiana Gayowsky 		(Hamilton, ON)		23rd

TEAM EVENT WOMEN FOIL - GOLD
Alanna Goldie
Eleanor Harvey
Pamela Brind’Amour
Sofya Romashina

TEAM EVENT MEN FOIL - GOLD
Alastair Keyes
Francois-Olivier David
Marc-Antoine Brodeur
Michael Hasting- Grgas

TEAM EVENT WOMEN EPEE-SILVER
Andrée-Anne Paquet
Brittany Mark-Larkin
Malinka Hoppe-Montanaro
Vanessa Lacas-Warrick

TEAM EVENT MEN EPEE-SILVER
Isaac Velestuk
Marc-Antoine Blais-Belanger
Michael Hastings-Grgas
Philippe Heidecker

TEAM EVENT MEN SABER-BRONZE
Cameron Mackay
Cédric Boutet
Jihad Kabbaj
William Kinney

TEAM EVENT WOMEN SABER– 4th
Frédérique Bourget
Lily Jiang
Tatiana Gayowsky
Véronique Lamarre