Richard Kruse
DOB: 30/7/1983 Event: Men¿s Foil Hometown: London Flag: GBR
Last Updated: 01/11/11 10:13am
Two-time Olympian Richard Kruse is slowly rising to the top of the world standings and it could come just in time to make his point in London.
The men's foil expert won silver in the 2001 European Under-02 Championships, and went one better to claim gold a year later.
An Olympic debut in Athens in 2004 saw Kruse make it to the quarter-finals - the best result from the British fencer since 1964 in Tokyo.
A silver medal in the 2006 European fencing Championships saw Kruse arrive on the major senior stage, and that set him up nicely as he headed to Beijing.
Kruse only managed to reach the last 16 in the 2008 Olympics though, but that seemed to spur him on as he enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2009.
Kruse went on to win a gold and silver medal in World Cup events in Copenhagen and Paris, before another European silver was pocketed and he ended 2009 as the fifth-best fencer in the world rankings.
Another World Cup silver came in Seoul in 2011 when he reached the final before being edged out by just a single point by Italian great Andrea Baldini.
Continued good form though and a now full-time career as a fencer should see Kruse challenging for medals in his hometown of London.
