The first day of Junior competition got underway yesterday at the 2016 Junior and Cadet Fencing World Championships in Bourges, France with Men's Individual Sabre and Women's Individual Foil in action.

Winnipeg's Cameron Mackay was Canada's highlight of the day, finishing 12th in Men's Sabre out of 149 competitors.  Mackay went 4 wins and 2 losses in poules and won his first elimination bout a close 15-14 against Colombian Luis Vila Correa.  In the 64's he defeated Yoon Seongnam from Korea 15-12 and went on to win the 32's 15-12 against Daniel Rui from Senegal.

Mackay's day came to an end in the 16's when he faced Anatoliy Kostenka from Russia.  Mackay led for the first half of the bout but could not stave off Kostenka's momentum in the end to lose 15-12. Mackay finished the competition ranked 12th overall.

The top performer for the day in Junior Women's Foil was Ying Cao of Toronto.  A cadet-aged competitor, Cao finished in 20th place following a loss to the eventual gold medalist Sabrina Massialas of the USA, who is also ranked 21st in the Senior World rankings.

In action Tuesday are Men's Epee and Women's Sabre. For updates and photos of the event, please visit the CFF's Facebook page.

-30-