Justine Moore, a 34-year-old para fencer from Blackpool, claimed her first individual medal on the European stage with a determined performance in Cardiff. The bronze in the individual foil category followed her two team bronzes on the opening day of the Para Fencing European Championships.
Gutsy quarter-final win secures podium place
Moore battled past Belarusian Alesia Makrytskaya 15-13 in a thrilling quarter-final bout to guarantee herself a place on the podium. Although she could not reach the gold medal match after a semi-final defeat against eventual champion Ionela Andreea Mogos, she expressed her delight after a memorable day in the Welsh capital.
“I’m super happy with how I performed today,” she said. “I’d been training well and I’m just so proud of myself today. I just thought I had to stay focused, stay on the game and keep very calm. I tried to keep my nerves down and just focus, and it went in my favour, which was great. I have surprised myself a bit, but I felt like training was going well.”
Championships return to UK for first time since 2011
The European Championships are being held in the UK for the first time since Sheffield in 2011, hosted at the Sport Wales National Centre in the shadow of Sophia Gardens. Moore had started her campaign with mixed team epee and foil bronzes alongside Paralympic champions Dimitri Coutya and Piers Gilliver.
Just 24 hours later, she delivered a dazzling individual display, beating Frenchwoman Cecile Demaude and then Makrytskaya to secure her first individual continental medal. Moore went down 15-4 against three-time Paralympic medallist Mogos, 38, but took bronze alongside Viktoria Boykova as Nadiia Doloh claimed silver.
Momentum ahead of LA2028 qualifier
Moore now hopes to carry major momentum into the rest of the week in what marks the maiden qualification event for the LA2028 Paralympic Games. “It’s looking really good for myself now,” she added. “I’m going to continue and see what happens for the rest of the week. I now need to stay on my A-game, focused and be prepared as much as possible - you just never know what the result may be. I’m really proud.”
The Para Fencing European Championships, supported by funding from UK Sport through The National Lottery and Welsh Government, is being held in Cardiff from 6th-11th October 2026, seeing athletes from across Europe compete in the first qualification event for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games.
