The European Championship of Fencing 2018 organized by the European Fencing Confederation (EFC) in Novi Sad, SERBIA, started today, Saturday  June 16th with men in Foil and women in Saber.

This competition is the last one before the World Championship taking place in Wuxi, China next month.

Russia’s Cheremisinov Claimed Second European Title in Novi Sad

Thirty-two year old Russian men’s foilist, Alexey Cheremisinov claimed his second European title in Novi Sad, Serbia today. He beat Italy’s reigning Olympic, Daniele Garozzo in a tight final, coming from behind to win 15-14. It took his impressive tally of medal at this event to five – two golds, two silver and a bronze.

It nearly came unstuck for the Russian early on, when he faced French World number 14, Erwann Le Pechoux. He just edged past him 15-14 before going on to beat another two-time European Champion, Italy’s Andrea Cassara 15-12 to secure his semi-final place.

Another Italian stood in his way to the gold medal match, Italy’s World number 16, Giorgio Avola – also a previous winner. A strong start from the Russian saw him edge 7-2 ahead before Avola fought back impressively. However, Cheremisinov was not to be denied and he battled his way to a 15-12 victory.

Garozzo’s progress to the semi-finals was steady, facing no real danger throughout. His opponent there was Czech Republic fencer, Alexander Choupenitch, who was making his first appearance in a major senior medal match. A fast scoring affair was punctuated with a medical time-out for Garozzo, who suffered an accidental but nasty cut to his leg. The Italian recovered to control the distance in the fight, taking a 15-11 victory in the first period.

The final itself was a thoroughly captivating battle between Cheremisinov and Garozzo. The Russian, perhaps sensing the need to get an early lead, came out hard and fast. He edged into the lead before switching to trying to find the moment to attack whilst Garozzo was setting up his hits. The two cancelled each other out on their way to a 7-7 draw. The match slowed considerably and it was Garozzo who stole the advantage, going into what looked like an unassailable 14-11 lead. The Russian’s fight remained intact and he landed two counter-attacks before levelling at 14-14 on a hit contested by Garozzo. The winning hit was a display of great defensive footwork from the Russian who skipped away from Garozzo before finishing the job with an attack of his own.