FENCER Cador Beautyman made the perfect start to the new year as he secured a bronze medal at a national competition.

The Broad Town Primary School pupil beat a large field to claim third spot in the boys U9 age group, to the delight of coach Neil Bromley.

“This was an excellent performance from Cador,” said Bromley.

“In the past, he has let his nerves get the better of him when getting to the closing stages of competitions but he was using a wide range of blade strokes to keep his opponents guessing. “It will be great to build on this result and the next step is a place in the final.”

Beautyman's day started with a first pool seeding round, where he won three bouts and lost two. In the second round he found his form, winning all but one of his bouts, and when the overall seeding from both rounds was completed, Beautyman was placed fourth, giving him a bye through the first two direct elimination rounds.

With the field down to 16, Beautyman won his first direct elimination with ease before working his way into the semi-finals.

Beutyman faced the top seed in the semi-final and the fight proved to be a nip and tuck affair, but he eventually went down 10-4.

“I went to the competition hoping to come at least seventh, which would have been my highest result yet, and I came out with bronze, which is brilliant,” said Beautyman.

“I’m looking forward to the Regional Finals in February and then another competition in Truro in March.”

Broad Town headteacher Bridget Long added: “This is a great result for Cador and the school is very pleased with his progress in fencing.’’