Zoe Davison, Kerenza Bryson and Jess Varley all finished inside the top 10 at the first ever Under 24 European Championships today, claiming team bronze in the process. Amy Silk, competing at the Championships on a self-funded basis, completed an impressive day for the Pentathlon GB team by finishing 21^st on her first ever international appearance.

Story of the day

The day started in the fencing hall where Plymouth’s Bryson continued her fine 2017 form in the discipline, picking up 30 victories and just 12 defeats from her 42 bouts, placing her second in the early standings. Fotheringhay’s Varley and Great Gaddesden’s Silk both recorded 20 victories in the opening discipline whilst Stroud’s Davison secured 17 victories meaning the British quartet were all in a good position after the fence.

In the swim, it was former Wycliffe College student Davison who set the standard, her time of 2:12.23 quickest in the field. Varley who graduated from the University of Bath this summer, also produced an extremely encouraging performance in the discipline, stopping the clock in 2:22.93. Meanwhile, current University of Exeter student Bryson (2:27.61) and Dacorum MPC’s Silk (2:29.80) were just behind their British teammates.

It meant that Bryson was still well placed in 3^rd with Davison moving up to 10^th, Varley 11^th and Silk 16^th after the opening two disciplines. The competition then moved to the ride where all four Brits demonstrated their strength in the event. Davison topped another discipline standings, producing a perfect, clear round to pick up 300 points and nearest to the allocated time. Silk, who returned to the sport last year, also picked up the maximum 300 points whilst Bryson and Varley both secured 286 after rolling two poles apiece.

As a result, Bryson began the concluding laser run in 4^th with Davison 8^th, Varley 13^th and Silk 14^th. However, with the field still tightly spread, there was still lots of potential for movement throughout the field.

The final discipline took place in the sports hall previously used for fencing which meant the competition was split into two heats with Varley and Silk going in the first, and Bryson and Davison with the top half of the field in the second. It meant a wait until the end of both heats for the final results but a strong end to the day from 18-year-old Davison, the youngest athlete in the competition, saw her move up to 5^th at the competition’s close.

Fellow teenager Bryson also performed well in the final discipline, challenging for a medal before eventually crossing the line 8^th. Meanwhile Varley, who was making her first individual international appearance since March made it three Brits in the top 10 by moving up four places to 9^th and ensuring a team bronze for the trio. Silk, making her international debut, also put up a strong display to finish the competition 21^st.

The Championships were won by home favourite Natalia Dominiak, making her the inaugural Under 24 European Champion with Hungary’s Sarolta Simon claiming silver and Lithuania’s Aurelia Tamasauskaite bronze after flying up the leaderboard during the laser run.

Tomorrow sees the Men’s competition taking place with Bradley Sutton and Jamie Harper competing for Pentathlon GB in Poland.

Report courtesy of Pentathlon GB