Last Updated: Monday, 2 April 2007  
                          

Fencing's Jon Willis Benefits from SCNI Funding

	Unmasked - Fencing's Jon Willis

Jon Willis, who moved from the SCNI Athlete Support Programme in 2006 to become a member of British Fencing’s Olympic Pathway Programme, won the prestigious men’s epee World Cup event, the Heidenheimer Pokal, this weekend at Heidenheim, Germany with a stunning run of nine consecutive victories.   Willis triumphed in a field of 195 entries from across the world.
 
26 year-old Willis lost the first 3 of 4 fights in the preliminary stages but then dramatically turned the form book on its head by winning his next 9 fights, coming from 6/11 down to defeat previous champion, Frenchman Ulrich Robeiri 15/11 in the final period in the fight for the Gold Medal.  In the semi-final, Willis had defeated another Frenchman, Francois Jan, 15/14 after saving three match points at 12/14 down with just a few seconds of the match remaining.
 
Jon Willis, Heidenheimer Pokal gold medallist said “Being able to train full time is clearly already paying off for me. I was part of a training camp in Germany prior to the tournament, which was great preparation, and I’m so thrilled with the medal. Hopefully it will be the first of many for me and the rest of the GB Olympic team.”
 
British Fencing Performance Director, Graham Watts, says “What Jon has achieved in winning such a stellar tournament cannot be underestimated, especially in the manner of his victory as he twice snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. In the world of epee fencing this tournament is the equivalent to Wimbledon for Lawn Tennis.   This is the first time a British fencer has won a World Cup event since 1981, the year Jon was actually born! His victory stands as a testament to his dedication and talent and demonstrates that British Fencing’s Olympic Pathway Programme is already progressing well towards its ultimate goal of a medal in 2012. I’ve no doubt that Jon’s success will further inspire the other Pathway fencers to realize their potential as highly skilled and very fit athletes”.
 
British Fencing’s Olympic Pathway Programme was launched in January 2007 with the specific aim of winning an Olympic fencing Medal, for the first time since 1964, at London 2012.

Prior to his membership on the Olympic Pathway Programme, Jon benefited from funding through the Sports Council for Northern Ireland.  Jon first received funding in 2001 from the Council’s Talented Athlete Next Generation Programme and more recently from the Council’s Athlete Support Programme. 

During this time Jon has also enjoyed considerable success winning a silver medal in the Epee event at the 2002 Commonwealth Championships and then a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Championships in Belfast.