A young fencer has set his sights on the Olympic podium.
Rafael ‘Raffi’ Pollitt, who attends Chesham Grammar School and is from Prestwood, has competed and trained in France, Russia, Spain, Italy, Poland, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Denmark, and Holland, and has flown thousands of miles, in search of the “standard of fencing” to push him to the next level.
Last year as a 14-year-old, he finished 13th at the European Cadet (Under-17) Foil Championships and seventh as part of the Boys’ Cadet Team. This season he finished fifth in the Manchester International Cadet Competition, and with the team won a bronze medal at the Budapest Cadet Cup out of 50 global teams.
Chris Galesloot, one of his coaches, said: “I have had the pleasure to directly work with Rafael Rhys Pollitt for almost two years now in my role as the lead GBR Foil Development coach.
“I am therefore very excited about Rafael’s potential in this sport next season still as an under-17 fencer, after that as an under-20 international and ultimately as senior athlete representing Great Britain at the highest level.”
His ambition is to be a world champion and he is well on his way, with the 2018/19 season seeing him selected to represent GBR at The Cadet European and World Championships in Italy and Poland.
And next year, Raffi will start to travel further afield when the World Championships take place in Salt Lake City, USA and Cairo, Egypt, in 2021.
This summer, he has been invited by the National Coach of Poland to attend their closed training camp as a high-calibre sparring partner, and will also present an award at the Chiltern Youth Awards in Amersham next month.
CGS head teacher Annmarie McNaney said: “For the second season in a row, Raffi is both the captain and the anchor for the GBR cadet boys’ team in each international team match.
“This, combined with his academic success to date, and his modesty and poise when dealing with everyday life at Chesham Grammmar School, makes Raffi a very impressive young man.”
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