The 2016 Vango Winter Open was held on February 6-7 and saw seven London Fencing Club members compete, with five coming in the top ten and one achieving a medal! The individual events took place on Saturday.
The Men’s Epée was represented by Chris Wick and Nathaniel Stokan. Chris fenced in a strong poule and won his first DE, finishing in 20th out of 55 competitors. Nathaniel had an exciting morning, doing well in his poule and winning his first three DE matches. He had the opportunity to fence two members of the Chinese National Team, facing the fencer ranked twenty-eighth in the world in the quarterfinals, and placed overall in 8th.
The Women’s Epée had a number of club members competing. Lauren Pasma and Noura Hamade came in 6th and 7th respectively, and Catherine Fowler and Latisha Laing finished 10th and 13th. Lauren and Noura also participated in the Women’s Team Event on Sunday, where they placed in third.
Karen Laansoo came out of her poules in 5th and carried on to win 15-5. Her next bout had a 5-1 start for the other fencer, but Karen came back to win 8-7 in priority, bringing her to the raised piste in the semi-finals and earning her a bronze medal.
Great job to all fencers, and congratulations for your medal Karen!
