Wheelchair Fencing European Championships Come to an End in Sheffield

The 2011 International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) Wheelchair Fencing European Championships have come to an end in Sheffield, Great Britain, with two outstanding individual performances as Romain Noble (FRA) and Zsuzsanna Krajnyak (HUN) both won their fourth gold medals of the event.

In the Men’s Team Epee France faced Russia in the final. While Russia took an early five point lead and were still four points ahead going into the fifth fight, France’s Noble managed a five-point turnaround against Russia’s Alexander Kuzyukov. Marc André Cratere and Robert Citerne then stretched France’s lead to five points before Noble returned to the piste to wrap it up despite a late flourish by Artur Yusupov.

Russia had upset the form book to reach the final putting out second seeds Belarus 45-42 and third seeds Poland 45-39 before finding favourites France a step too far in the final. The bronze medal match went to Poland who beat Italy 42-27.

Another fine, all-round performance from the Hungary in the Women’s Team Foil event ensured that their national team finished top of the medal table with seven gold medals overall. The scores in their three matches speak for themselves as they beat Great Britain 45-23, Poland 45-34 and then Ukraine 45-24 in the final with Zsuzsanna Krajnyak fittingly landing the final hit to take her personal tally to four gold medals. The bronze medal was won by Russia who beat Poland 45-27.