Montréal, August 10, 2013 – The Canadian women’s foil fencing team put together their best ever performance in World Championship history, Saturday, after finishing 7th in Budapest, Hungary, while the men’s sabre team came away with an 11th place finish.

Shannon Comerford of Saskatoon, Alanna Goldie, of Calgary, Eleanor Harvey, of Hamilton, and Kelleigh Ryan, of Ottawa, got a bye through the round of 32, then managed two wins in four matches.

The Canadians, classed 10th in the International Fencing Federation (FIE), got things started with a victory over the 7th ranked Japanese by a score of 45-31 in the round of 16.

They unfortunately lost their next duel with the Russians, 2nd in the world, 45-21, and then fell again to the 6th ranked Poles, 45-35, in the match to decide classifications between 5th and 8th.

The Canadians wrapped up their tournament on a winning note, however, capturing 7th place with a victory over China (ranked 9th in the FIE) by a score of 43-37.

“We’ve just achieved our goal! said with enthusiasm Kelleigh Ryan. China is a strong team who had knocked Germany out of the competition earlier.”

“We have made the quarter finals three times, but never managed to take the next step in the seeding rounds. Today's extra step up the ladder was very satisfying. Our coach, Paul ApSimon, has taught us to work as a team. Based on our individual results, the whole is definitely stronger than the parts.”

“The team had been improving all year with a 9th, 8th and 8th in the last three world cups. This result is a confirmation that we are heading in the right direction, said ApSimon. Our objective was seventh, and defeating the Chinese in the last match was the perfect exclamation point to a breakthrough season.”

It was first World Championships team experience for Eleanor Harvey, 18 year old. “We finished fourth in April at the Junior World Championships and, although I found today's level to be much higher, April's experience really helped. I am really proud of my team and the way we worked together today.”

Alanna Goldie, 18 year old too, agreed with her teammate. “Although we were dreaming for a better result, I am proud of my team and the way the team performed today. Our objective was seventh and we achieved it today.”

As for Sabreurs Philippe Beaudry of Pointe-aux-Trembles, Shaul Gordon of Vancouver, Mark Peros of Toronto, and Joseph Polossifakis of Outremont, they won three of their five matches on Saturday.

Ranked 11th in the International standings, the Canadians got off to a good start with a win over the 24th ranked Brazilians, 45-36 in the round of 32.

They ran into a wall in the next round, however, where the Germans handed them a 45-26 defeat, relegating the Canadians to the 9th through 16th classifications.

After rebounding with a tight, 45-43 victory over the Brits (14th), the Canadians were taken down by the Ukrainian team, 10th best in the International rankings.

Finally, in the contest to decide 11th place, the Canadian sabreurs came away victorious, beating the 8th ranked Chinese by a score of 45-34.

The Canadians will be in action, Sunday, in the women’s epee team competition.

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Written by Sportcom for Canadian Fencing Federation