Strong showing for Irish at Men’s ةpée International Competition

Ireland’s Grant Anderton and Michael O’Brien claimed an historic double medal haul at the Men’s ةpée International Satellite Competition in DCU yesterday.
 
Anderton and O’Brien finished second and third respectively to cap off what has been an historic weekend for Irish Fencing. This was the first time that an International competition of this stature has been staged in the country and it also the first time that an Irish pair have finished in the top three at the same competition.
 
Anderton and O’Brien’s excellent performances mean they both receive World Ranking points.  Michele Bino of Italy was the overall winner with David Cook of Australia rounding off the top four spots.

The tournament was particularly successful from an Irish point of view with two other fencers claiming World Ranking points.
 
Benedict Chambers finished 7th and Conor Nagle, who finished in 8th, rounded of the points finishers. Paul Fitzpatrick was unlucky to miss out on rankings points with a 9th place finish, while Derry’s Andrew Fenwick couldn’t get any momentum over the day and finished in a disappointing 13th.
 
Nuala McGarrity, secretary of the Irish Amateur Fencing Federation (IAFF), saw Ireland’s strong in the tournament as no surprise: “I knew we (Ireland) had the potential to do this well. There are some fantastic fencers in this country and there has been a great structure in place for years to help this talent develop.
 
“I just hope that we can go on from this and build a successful sport in the country. We know what we are capable of and hopefully this will make people sit up and pay attention to the talent we have in the country,” McGarrity said at the tournament.
 
For Further Information:
Declan Lee – O’Herlihy Communications – 01 660 2744 / 087 695 7451
Nuala McGarrity - IAFF – 086 835 0921