AN ALLOA teenager has earned himself a bronze medal for his performance at the British National Fencing Championships.

Calum Kettles, 15, won the medal during the national tournaments at Nottingham over the weekend of September 16-17.

The prodigy was performing in the Cadet (U17) Sabre category and was seeded 16th after winning four of his six fights in the initial poule stage.

Calum progressed comfortably through the last 32, quarter finals and into the semi-finals where he came up against Britain’s number one seeded fencer.

After a hard-fought match, Calum lost to his opponent but earned himself a bronze medal for his efforts.

Speaking to Advertiser Sport, he said: “It felt great. I was fencing well and pleased that all my training is paying off.

“The way I am fencing now is so much better than even a few months ago.

“I want to maintain or improve my rankings to keep my place in the GB team.

“I am excited to hopefully be selected to represent Scotland in the Commonwealth Fencing Championships next year.”

Calum started fencing when he was eight years old and initially trained at West Fife Fencing Club in Dunfermline, before moving to Salle Ossian in Perth.

He moved there in 2021 as this is a specialised sabre club which allowed him to further his development in the sport.

Calum is currently part of Salle Ossian’s high-performance programme and trains five days a week with his coach Phil Carson.

This fencing club had three fencers in the last eight of the British National Championships – Josh Bryden winning the British title and Miller Hetherington finishing 6th.

This is not Calum’s first foray into national competitions as last year he represented Scotland in the Commonwealth Fencing Championships in London.

He has since been selected to represent Great Britain in Godollo, Hungary in October.

Calum’s bronze medal has moved him up to ninth place in the British Cadet Sabre rankings, which will give him a higher chance of selection for the national team.

On Friday, September 22, Calum received a call-up to represent GB in Istanbul in October.

He added: “I was delighted to be selected to fence for GBR for Godollo, and have just received my invitation to fence in Istanbul.

“These competitions are part of the European Circuit and I am excited to now fence people from all nations.”