Kruse Becomes Lion of Bonn
PRESS RELEASE: ZFW’S RICHARD KRUSE WINS FENCING WORLD CUP IN GERMANY
Date: Monday, November 19, 2018 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ZFW fencer Richard Kruse has kicked off the competitive international season with a commanding gold-medal win in Germany at the Bonn Men’s Foil World Cup.
The north London fencer, who is ranked second in the world and who trains with ZFW Fencing Club head coach and founder Ziemek Wojciechowski, commanded the day. The November 9 competition saw nearly 240 fencers representing some three dozen countries come en garde. Kruse was the senior member of a GB squad of 12, which also included ZFW’s Dominic De Almeida.
Kruse was automatically promoted to the knock-out stages of the competition by virtue of his No 2 international ranking. The 35-year-old British fencer handily defeated opponents from Belgium, France and the United States before meeting seasoned Italian competitor Andrea Cassara on the finals piste. Cassara held a slight lead early on in the match until Kruse adjusted his tactics to gain the upper hand, then dominated the fight to a winning score of 15-11.
Kruse, a four-time GB Olympian, was satisfied with the result; Bonn was the only World Cup competition where Kruse had not won a podium place. In addition to righting that situation, Kruse’s win pushes his tally to eight World Cup victories.
Wojciechowski, who has coached Kruse since the age of nine, said the victory showed the depths of Kruse’s skills. “It is incredible to see yet another dimension of Richard’s mastery in defence,” said Wojciechowski. “This time the winning performance was full of a variety of actions from the so-called point in line (this involves a straight arm with the point of the fencing foil threatening the opponent’s target area), which Richard recently developed.”
De Almeida, the youngster among the senior GB men’s foil squad, finished in 72nd place. The international men’s foil fencing season continues with the next major competitions in Paris and in Tokyo early in 2019.
ZFW is run by Olympic Coach Ziemek Wojciechowski with a team of dedicated experts. The club aims to boost the standard of fencing in Britain by providing a centre of excellence for elite fencers training for Olympic, international and national teams. It also provides a learning programme with an emphasis on youngsters. ZFW operates from various venues in North London and elsewhere around the capital. For further details, please visit https://www.zfw-fencing.co.uk
