Kuznetsov caps stunning performance with gold at Youth Worlds
17-year-old Ukrainian starlet Anton Kuznetsov was in barnstorming form in the Men’s Final at the 2014 Youth ‘A’ World Championships in the Hungarian capital Budapest as he stormed to an impressive victory in the combined to take the title.
Having begun his campaign with a third place in the gruelling round robin epee fencing after registering 23 victories from 35 bouts on the pistes, he then clocked a sub-2mins time in the 200m freestyle swim to ensure he would begin the final event in pole position.
With a 21 seconds cushion at the start of the run/shoot, he looked confident at each round at the range, unflustered and always in control. His speed around the 4 loops of the 800m cross-country course ensured he was never under pressure on his way to a well-deserved gold medal in his first international competition.
Top spot also confirmed his qualification to the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, china this summer.
He told us afterwards, “It is a great feeling to win, I have to thank my coaches for giving me the belief that I could perform at the highest level. Gold means the world to me.”
On the prospect of representing his country at Youth Olympic Games, he replied, “It is an honour and a privilege. The Olympics are what dreams are made of. It will be special.”
There was a real jostle for position in the chasing pack with so many permutations between second and 15th position during the combined event.
Alexander Lifanov of Russia, who began the final discipline of the day in seventh after coming sixth overall in the fence, impressed on his way to taking the silver medal.
Mexico’s Luis Cruz, the day’s best fencer and one of the winners of the qualification groups, overtook nine athletes to win bronze whilst 16-year-old Max Esposito, already qualified for the YOG after victory last year at the Asian Championships, showed his credentials after moving up from 22nd on the combined starting grid to end the day 4th.
Shooting World Record holder Ricardo Vera made it a second Mexican in the top five and his total haul of 1118 points added to his compatriot Andres Garza clocking the fastest time in the run/shoot to finish 9th ensured their country went home with the Team gold.
Richard Bereczki of Hungary was 6th with Dovidas Vaivada of Lithuania finishing 7th. US National Champion Brendan Anderson confirmed his growing reputation with 8tth place as Ukraine’s Vladyslav Rydvanskyi made up the top ten.
After coming so close to beating the Youth World Record for a 200m freestyle in a 25m pool, Henry Choong of Great Britain finished a lowly 28th. But this only confirmed just how tough it is at this level.
Team silver went to Ukraine with Russia taking bronze.
The Youth A World Championships conclude on Monday 19 May with the Mixed Relay.
Upcoming events
