Our World Champion!
Wednesday 5th April 2023 - the day Amelie Tsang became Britain's (and ZFW's) first women's cadet World Champion. The achievement came on Day 5 of the Cadet (under 17) and Junior (under 20) World Championships held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
As an emotional Amelie said afterwards, it took her a while to find her rhythm at the start of the competition, still feeling tired after the previous day's fencing in the Juniors. However, as the day progressed, the performances - and results - kept getting better.
Coming out of the poules, Amelie seeded joint 8th out of the 110 competitors, then made steady way through the direct eliminations. A bye took her into the Table of 64, where she beat Australian Neve O'Neil 15-3. Then on to the last 32, dispatching Polish fencer Marta Jakubowska 15-12, before beating Greek Garyfallou 15-9 in the T16. Next up was Israeli Gili Kuritzky, who had just knocked out the top seed; Amelie dispatched her 15-9.
Now into the semis, and secure of a medal, she had a closely fought bout against Wong of Hong Kong, in the end beating her 15-14. Finally, a really powerful performance allowed Amelie to beat Italian Greta Collini 15-11 and claim the crown.
This is the culmination of a very successful final cadet season for Amelie, which also saw her claim the British and Commonwealth cadet titles, as she will now focus on the Junior circuit. Before that, though, Amelie will return to the scene of her biggest triumph when she competes in the senior World Cup in Plovdiv in a few week's time.
Congratulations Amelie! We are all incredibly proud of you!
Photos: #TeamBizzi, with thanks
British Fencing's press release can be seen here.
