Sheffield blades! Camden fencers grab glory at national tournament

Published: 7 October, 2010
by STEVE BARNETT

TEAM Camden dominated the National Fencing Championships at the weekend when they won three of the four major titles on offer in Sheffield. 

Fabio Artesi led the charge when he beat team-mate Rubin Amsalem 15-9 in the final of the men’s under-17s cadets. Runner-up Rubin caused a major upset in the last eight of the competition when he beat Gruffydd Williams, who was among the favourites to take gold having recently won the Manchester Cadet Championships. Gianfranco Artesi completed a top-three finish for Camden Fencing Club after reaching the semi-finals to secure a bronze medal. 

In the women’s under-17s cadets Aliya Itzkowitz defeated Alice Maidwell-Smith 15-9 in the final to take gold. She completed an outstanding double by beating Victoria Carson 15-11 to also win the junior under-20s title. 

Aliya is enjoying an outstanding season with Camden having won the Manchester Cadet Championships and finished second in the Hamlet Senior Open. Curtis Miller almost completed a clean sweep of the titles when he finished runner-up to James Honeybone in the men’s junior under-10s competition. Curtis, who is getting ready for the forth-coming European Junior Championships along with Camden team-mate Soji Aiyenuro, missed out on gold by a single hit as he lost 15-14 having led for much of the match. 

Gianfranco wrapped up a memorable weekend by producing another surprise result when he beat Soji 15-13 in the same age category on his way to collecting his second bronze of the tournament. 

Under the outstanding coaching of Ian Williams and Rob Partridge, the team of 14 fencers from Camden returned home with three gold medals, two silver and two bronze.