Richard Kruse

Last updated

Richard Kruse
Richard Kruse CIP 2015 IND t154616.jpg
Personal information
Full nameRichard Adam Kruse
Born (1983-07-30) 30 July 1983 (age 41)
London, England
Residence London, England
NationalityBritish
Height1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight80 kg (176 lb)
Sport
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
Weapon Foil
HandRight-handed
National coach Ziemowit Wojciechowski
ClubZFW
FIE  ranking Current Ranking
Medal record
World Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2018 Wuxi Individual
World Combat Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2013 Saint Petersburg Individual
European Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2015 Baku Team
European Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2006 Izmir Individual
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2009 Plovdiv Individual
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2010 Leipzig Individual
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2010 Leipzig Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2012 Legnano Individual
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2013 Zagreb Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2016 Torun Team

Richard Kruse (born 30 July 1983) is a former British right-handed foil fencer and four-time Olympian. [1] In 2015, he was part of the Great Britain team that shocked Olympic champions Italy to win the first European Games gold in team foil, the first British gold medal in a team fencing event at World or European level for fifty years. He retired in 2021. [2]

Contents

Career

Kruse won his first international medal, a silver, at the 2001 European Under 20 Championships and in 2002 won gold in at the same event. [3]

He made his Olympic debut at the 2004 Games in Athens, Greece. Competing in the men's individual foil. He received a bye in the first round, beat China's Wang Haibin in round two and Dan Kellner of the United States in the third round before being defeated 8–15 by Andrea Cassarà in the quarter-finals. [4] His eighth-place finish was the best by a British fencer since the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, when Fiona McIntosh was eighth in the women's foil, [5] and the best by a British man since the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, when Bill Hoskyns won the silver medal in the individual épée. [6] In 2006 Kruse won the silver medal in the men's foil event at the European Fencing Championships. [7]

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Kruse again participated in the men's individual foil event. He defeated Virgil Sălișcan of Romania in the round of 32 but was eliminated at the last 16 stage after a 9–10 loss to Germany's Peter Joppich. He finished 14th. [4]

In 2009 Kruse had his most successful season to date. He won a gold medal at the World Cup event in Copenhagen and a silver medal in Paris, then gold in Venice before winning a silver medal at the 2009 European Fencing Championships held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Kruse finished the season ranked fourth in the world. [8]

At the 2011 World Cup event in Seoul, South Korea, Kruse won the silver medal in the men's foil. he won five matches, including a 15–11 defeat of compatriot Laurence Halsted in the last eight to reach the final against Andrea Baldini of Italy. Baldini won the final by a single point, 15–14 to take the gold medal. [9]

Kruse is coached by former Polish Olympian turned British national Ziemowit Wojciechowski. [7] He is also a coach for his ZFW fencing club. [10]

In 2012, Richard Kruse won bronze at the Wakayama Grand Prix. Only 2 months later he claimed another bronze at the European Championships in Legnano, having been seeded 45th after the poule stages. [11] At the London Olympics later that year, he finished 17th in the men's individual event, losing to Artur Akhmatkhuzin in the last 32. [12] He was part of the British team that came 6th, losing to Italy in the quarter-finals and then beating France and losing to Russia in the ranking rounds. [13]

In 2016 Kruse again attended the Olympic Games in Rio. He placed fourth overall in the Men's Individual Foil, losing to Timur Safin of Russia in the Bronze Medal Match. [14]

In 2018 Kruse won silver in the individual men's foil event at the World Championships in Wuxi, China.

After winning gold at the Prince Takamodo World Cup in Tokyo, on 26 January 2019, he was ranked number one in the world, the first British fencer to achieve that position. [15]

Kruse retired in May 2021. He now works as a fencing coach for Salle Paul Fencing Club in Hendon. [2] When he retired in 2021, he had been a six times British fencing champion, winning six foil titles at the British Fencing Championships, from 2001 to 2018. [16]

Medal Record

World Championship

YearLocationEventPosition
2018 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Wuxi, China Individual Men's Foil2nd [17]

European Championship

YearLocationEventPosition
2006 Flag of Turkey.svg İzmir, Turkey Individual Men's Foil3rd
2009 Flag of Bulgaria.svg Plovdiv, Bulgaria Individual Men's Foil2nd [18]
2010 Flag of Germany.svg Leipzig, Germany Individual Men's Foil3rd [19]
2010 Flag of Germany.svg Leipzig, Germany Team Men's Foil3rd [20]
2012 Flag of Italy.svg Legnano, Italy Individual Men's Foil3rd [21]
2013 Flag of Croatia.svg Zagreb, Croatia Team Men's Foil3rd [22]
2016 Flag of Poland.svg Toruń, Poland Team Men's Foil3rd [23]

Grand Prix

DateLocationEventPosition
2009-01-23 Flag of France.svg Paris, France Individual Men's Foil2nd [24]
2009-02-13 Flag of Italy.svg Venice, Italy Individual Men's Foil1st [25]
2010-05-24 Flag of Russia.svg St. Petersburg, Russia Individual Men's Foil2nd [26]
2012-04-28 Flag of Japan.svg Wakayama, Japan Individual Men's Foil3rd [27]
2015-11-27 Flag of Italy.svg Turin, Italy Individual Men's Foil2nd [28]
2016-03-11 Flag of Cuba.svg Havana, Cuba Individual Men's Foil1st [29]
2017-05-19 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Shanghai, China Individual Men's Foil1st [30]
2018-05-19 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Shanghai, China Individual Men's Foil1st [31]

World Cup

DateLocationEventPosition
2008-01-05 Flag of Denmark.svg Copenhagen, Denmark Individual Men's Foil3rd [32]
2009-01-17 Flag of Denmark.svg Copenhagen, Denmark Individual Men's Foil1st [33]
2010-01-16 Flag of Denmark.svg Copenhagen, Denmark Individual Men's Foil1st [34]
2010-05-09 Flag of South Korea.svg Seoul, South Korea Individual Men's Foil2nd [35]
2011-05-10 Flag of South Korea.svg Seoul, South Korea Individual Men's Foil2nd [36]
2014-04-25 Flag of South Korea.svg Seoul, South Korea Individual Men's Foil3rd [37]
2017-10-20 Flag of Egypt.svg Cairo, Egypt Individual Men's Foil1st [38]
2018-11-09 Flag of Germany.svg Bonn, Germany Individual Men's Foil1st [39]
2019-01-25 Flag of Japan.svg Tokyo, Japan Individual Men's Foil1st [40]

References

  1. "INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website". FIE.org. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  2. 1 2 "British fencing great Richard Kruse announces retirement". 13 May 2021.
  3. "Richard Kruse – Fencing". BBC Sport. 7 August 2007. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  4. 1 2 "Richard Kruse Biography and Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  5. "FIE List of Results Jeux Olympiques Barcelone 1992". fie.ch. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  6. "FIE List of Results Jeux Olympiques Tokyo 1964". fie.ch. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  7. 1 2 "Richard Kruse". British fencing. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  8. "FIE Fencer Rankings and results Richard KRUSE". fie.ch. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  9. "British fencer Richard Kruse lands silver at World Cup". BBC Sport. 21 May 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  10. "Richard Kruse". 15 January 2015.
  11. "Richard Kruse". BBC Sport. 30 April 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  12. "foil individual men results - Fencing - London 2012 Olympics". olympic.org. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  13. "foil team men results - Fencing - London 2012 Olympics". olympic.org. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  14. "Rio 2016 foil individual men Results - Olympic fencing".
  15. "Kruse wins at FIE Foil World Cup in Tokyo to become Britain's first world number one". insidethegames.biz. 26 January 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  16. "British Champions" (PDF). British Fencing. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
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