SHAKESPEARE’S Swords young fencers enjoyed success at the England Youth Championships to come away with silver and bronze medals in Hertfordshire.
Billy Buxton, aged 13, won silver in the under-15’s Sabre Boys event whilst 15-year-old Raphael Bedford took bronze in the same competition.
Both fencers live in Stratford and attend Stratford High School as 17 youngsters from Shakespeare’s Swords Fencing Club took part in the Championships.
Head coach, Chris Buxton, said: “Getting two medals at this prestigious end of season event that attracts hundreds of young fencers from all over the country was just great.
“It finishes the season nicely. The performances by Raphael and Billy were magnificent and testament to their professional attitudes in training.
“Other performances of particular note were two strong quarter-final finishes from Innes [Ireland] and William [Thomas], who have shown great improvement in the last 12 months.
“What is really good is the number of fencers with great potential coming up the ranks at our club. Last year we had eight fencers competing at this event, this year we had 17.
“For more than half of the squad it was their first England Youth Championships and I was very proud of their mature and composed performances – I cannot wait for next year.”
The medals came hot on the heels of a silver medal for 23 year-old Barney Halliwell, from Wellesbourne, at the recent British Senior Championships.
Halliwell and 23-year-old Sophia Potter, from Studley, are currently fencing for Great Britain at the European Championships in Poland.
Elsewhere, at the England Youth Championships, William Thomas was fifth in the under-11 Sabre Boys event with Felix Hall 21st.
In the under-15 Sabre Boys event, Alex Woodcock was 15th, Ruben Fernandez 18th, Jack Wilson 20th and Richard Crombie 28th.
And in the under-13 Girls event, Sophie Buxton was 13th with Charlotte Franklin just behind in 14th.
Lastly, in the under-13 Boys Sabre, Innes Ireland was seventh, Benjamin Fernandez 12th, Yiyang Pan 16th, Oliver Edwards 17th, James Greenwood 29th, Sebastian Jago 33rd and Hugo Hall 34th.
