ZFW Fencing Club’s Carolina Stutchbury won bronze for Great Britain at the European Cadet Championships in Porec, Croatia.

Ham & High: ZFW's Carolina Stutchbury (right) with coach Dmitri Romankov (far left), British Fencing coach Chris Galesloot and team manager Shelley Robinson (pic Joanna Stutchbury)ZFW's Carolina Stutchbury (right) with coach Dmitri Romankov (far left), British Fencing coach Chris Galesloot and team manager Shelley Robinson (pic Joanna Stutchbury) (Image: Archant)

Stutchbury, 14, was ranked 21st after the initial seeding round but fought her way past foilists from Portugal, Russia and Germany to reach the semi-finals.

The under-17 competition featured nearly 100 youngsters from 32 counties, with Stutchbury losing 15-12 to Italy's Matilde Calvanese, the top seed who went on to win gold.

"It was a long day and I had to fight in every bout. It was exhausting," said Stutchbury, who has been affiliated with fencing in Britain for about six years.

Stutchbury currently lives in the United States, where she is also a member of Epic Fencing in Atlanta, Georgia and trains with Dmitri Romankov, and is a multiple winner in the England Youth Championships, which are held annually in Hatfield, Herts.

"Before each bout, I had to warm up and this was a great time to think about how I should have fenced in the previous fight and what I would do better in the next one," she said.

ZFW head coach Ziemek Wojciechowski added: "This is a fantastic finish for Carolina and the result of a suitable temperament for competitive sport and her solid foundations in this discipline.

"This is a credit to Dmitri, who works with her in the United States. We're very proud Carolina started with ZFW and works with our coaches when in the UK."

ZFW's Amelie Tsang was also part of GB's four-member Cadet squad and finished in 37th place, while clubmate Dario Stenbeck-Schiavo helped form the British Cadet men's foil squad and ended the championships in 41st place.

In the run-up to the European Championships, 13-year-old Tsang battled her way to bronze in Paris as clubmate David Sosnov finished fourth, while Joe Donaghue reached the podium in Warsaw, Poland.

Tsang gave an impressive performance over two gruelling days at the Challenge CEP Marathon Foil, where she was ranked second after two initial seeding rounds among 149 fencers from 23 nations.

"I managed to pick myself up for a bruising fight for bronze," said Tsang, after winning by a dramatic score of 10-9.

Donaghue won his bronze after a day of consistent fencing, with five wins in the seedign rounds to reach the last four, where he lost 15-9 to Polish fencer Jakub Kotek.

Stutchbury and Tsang are set to compete in the World Championships in Salt Lake City, Utah, while Yasmin Campbell, Cameron Evans and Matthew Abrahams have qualified for the junior competition.