Canada’s up-and-coming Sabre fencers were in action at the Cadet European Fencing Championship (EFC) event in London, England. The event featured 219 fencers from 22 countries.

Canada’s Francois Cauchon (Brebeuf, Montreal, QC) had Canada’s top result, winning silver in the Men’s Sabre Individual competition. Following a spectacular day of fencing, he lost in the final to Gerard Lillo of Spain 15-9. Angelo Chiara (Brebeuf, Montreal, QC) also had a strong tournament, finishing 9^th overall.

Canada’s team of Francois Cauchon, Angelo Chiara and Gabriel Dodier (ROU, Chateauguay, QC) then went on to win gold in the Men’s Sabre Team competition. Canada defeated the host Great Britain’s top team 45-41 in the final to take gold. Canada defeated Hungary in the semi-finals 45-26 to advance to the gold final.

“It has been six years since a Cadet or Junior Men’s Sabre Team has been on the podium in International competition,” noted Men’s Sabre National Program Coach, Benjamin Manano. “These magnificent results demonstrate that the new generation of sabre athletes are ready to break into the rankings. The work of these athletes and their coaches should be congratulated. The future looks bright and these results show that up-and-coming sabre athletes in Canada are high quality.”

The top placer in the women’s EFC sabre competition in London was Marina Guintchinskia (Sergei’s Sabre Club, Edmonton, AB) who finished in 13^th place overall. Canada’s top Women’s Sabre Team finished in 5^th place, just out of the medal rounds. The team of Marina Guintchinskia, Kathy Hu (Vango, Canadian living in China) and Matina Pun (Dynamo, Vancouver, BC) lost their quarter-final bout 45-40 to Singapore, and then went on to defeat Team Netherlands and team NATO in the ranking rounds to finish in 5^th place.

Canada’s Cadet Epee athletes were also in action in EFC competition this weekend, but in Klagenfurt, Austria. Natasha Kis-toth (Dynamo, Richmond, BC) finished in 6^th place in an event that had 213 fencers from 30 countries! The top Canadian in men’s epee competition was Fynn Fafard (Dynamo, Roberts Creek, BC) who was 22^nd out of 239 fencers.

Canada’s Team 1 of Natasha Kis-Toth, Shirley Guo (TFC, North York, ON) and Christina Zozulya (Dynamo, West Vancouver, BC) finished in 6^th place in the Women’s Epee Team competition. They defeated Great Britain 2, Great Britain 1 and then lost to Poland in the quarter-finals which advanced them to the 5-8 placing rounds. They defeated USA2 45-25 before losing to Hungary 45-30 to finish in 6^th place. Canada Team 2 of Vanessa Dib (TFC,Richmond Hill, ON), Justine Boudreau (STH, Sherbrooke, ON) and Nicole Su (Dynamo, Coquitlam, BC) finished in 11^th place. 38 teams took part in the competition.

In the EFC men’s epee team competition in Austria, the Canada Team of Fynn Fafard, Steven Qin (Dynamo, Burnaby, BC), Victor Cheng Ji (Vango, Richmond Hill, ON) and Rick Wu (TFC, Markham, ON) finished in 10^th place overall out of 40 teams. Canada defeated Austria 45-40, but lost their next bout a very close 20-19 to Romania to then fence in the placing rounds where they defeated Isreal and Great Britain, but lost to Germany to finish in 10^th.

Canada’s up-and-coming women’s foil athletes took part in the Women’s Foil Junior World Cup event in Bochum, Germany this past weekend. Naomi Mondrot-Zilliox (Olympia, Montreal, QC) was Canada’s top placer, finishing top 16 in an event that had 119 top junior fencers from around the world.

Mondrot-Zilliox has a 5 win and 1 loss record after poules which advanced her to 64’s. There she fenced Julie Lidzbarska from Poland and won a close 15-14. She then faced Poland’s Renata Tomczak in the 32’s and came away with the win by a score of 13-8. Mondrot-Zilliox’s day came to an end in the top 16, when she faced Julia Braun from Germany, losing 15-10 to finish in 14^th place overall.

Canada’s Junior Women’s Foil Team of Naomi Mondrot-Zilliox, Ariane Bilodeau (MOU, Outremont, QC), Sarah Filby (MGB, Winnipeg, MB) and Jane Caulfield (EFC, Edmonton, AB) were in action Sunday in Bochum and finished 8^th overall. The team faced France in the quarter-finals and lost 45-39. France went on to take silver in the event.

Canada’s Junior Men’s Foil athletes competed in Leszno, Poland this weekend and Canada’s top placer was Blake Broszus (Canadian living in the US). Cadet-aged Broszus finished 28^th out of a field of 168 fencers, losing his round of 32 bout to Italy’s Alvise Dal Santo 15-11.

Canada Men’s Foil Team of Blake Broszus, Charles-Hugo Dube (Olympia, Longueuil, QC), Brandon Jalowica (DNF, Caledonia, ON) and Mateusz Kozak (TFC, Brampton, ON) lost to Great Britain in the 16’s and finished in 15^th place overall.

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