VISIT FROM MARCUS MEPSTEAD
29/11/2021
On Monday 18th November, Marcus returned to The Hall to meet with Year 7 and discuss his journey from the middle school hall all the way to the Olympic Games. Marcus started fencing aged nine when it was offered as an extracurricular activity at The Hall. Speaking to British Fencing, Marcus said ‘I took up fencing almost by accident. After watching an after-school club, I wanted to get involved and the rest is history’. After leaving the senior school, Marcus went on to study at Westminster School and the London School of Economics where he combined his fencing training with his studies and became a full-time fencer on the British Fencing’s World Class Programme. In addition to being part of the 2010, 2013 and 2016 British teams that won a bronze medal at the European Championships, Marcus went down in history as a gold medallist in the Men’s Foil team at the 2015 European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan. Marcus then represented GB in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, achieving 6th place with his team. Following these games, Marcus moved to New York to work with the renowned coach, Dan Kellner, and win a silver medal at the 2019 World Championship in the men’s individual foil. This win gave him the title as the number one athlete in the European Qualification Zone and he went on to qualify as an individual at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Our best wishes are with you Marcus, in your next fencing challenge!