Kevin on target as Scotland grab gold
Livingston star makes up for loss in Largs
Livingston fencer Kev Milne says his Commonwealth Championships gold medal has more than made up for narrowly failing to medal four years ago.
The West Lothian Fencing Club coach helped guide Scotland to veteran men’s foil gold in Australia with victory over England in the final.
The Scots were able to qualify for the semi-finals as top seeds, which saw them face New Zealand for a place in the gold medal match, with the Kiwis swept aside.
The final was a much closer affair and went right down to the wire, with Scotland sealing a 45-43 win in Canberra with six seconds remaining to win their first- ever gold medal in the event.
A delighted Kev said: “It was great to win the gold medal and it makes up for finishing fourth last time when it was held in Largs.
“The team has been together for the past four years and all of us were full internationals back in the 1990s so there’s lots of experience.
“The seeding came from the individual events the previous day and it was important for us to grab the first seed so we were delighted to get that done.
“The seeds came from the top three results in the individual event and we had an amazing day as Scotland took the top three.
“Unfortunately I was knocked out and finished 10th, but it was a great effort from the whole team and that made sure that we avoided the heavyweights of England and Australia in the semi-final.”
Kev, who was also Team Scotland assistant coach during the event, added: “The final was nerve-wracking, especially as we lost out on a medal against Canada on one hit four years ago. That was devastating, but I think we more than made up for it this time.
“It was a brilliant experience and Scotland overall had a number of great results.”
Next up is West Lothian Fencing Club’s first anniversary early next year and the Livi ace says it has been a tremendous 12 months for the club – but he’s already targeting future success.
He said: “The club has grown during the course of the year and we’ve got a great mix of beginners and more experienced fencers, as well as parents and children. It’s a great way to keep fit and we’re planning on running training on Tuesday nights as well as the current Friday night sessions.”
For more i n f o rmat i o n visit the club’s Facebook page at www. facebook. com/ WestLothianFencingclub.