Team England’s Disabled squad finished with a fantastic team bronze and also replicated the feat in the individual standings for the 20thFIPSed World Championships. These were held on the Stara Mura Podturen River from 16th– 17thJune 2018.

An impressive ten nations arrived in Croatia to fish the event and a strong Team England side consisted of; Mark Eves, Mark Russell, Alan Chadbone, Elliot Fay, Roy Wells and John Weeden (manager).

England’s performance on day one was phenomenal, with the team carding an impressive 12 points and leading the pack! This saw them just one point clear of the ever-present French team, with the Croatians snapping at their heels. On day two, home advantage and a good draw saw the Croatian team card an unbelievable 6 points, earning them the gold medal and then there was a tense wait to see who would take the Silver between England and Italy.

It was unfortunately, the Italians who came out on top by a solitary point, however, both team and manager were still happy with their performance. In the individual standings, Elliot Fay’s tremendous two-point performance resulted in a bronze medal, with Rudolf Centrih of Slovenia finishing in second place, and Croatia’s Nikola Gecek’s earning the gold medal.

Top 5 Team results;

1st Croatia 21 points

2nd Italy 31 points

3rd England 32 points

4th Slovenia 38 points

5th France 39 points

Top 5 Individual results;

1st Nikola Gecek, Croatia

2nd Rudolf Centrih, Slovenia

3rd Elliot Fay, England

4th Alain Schaeffer, France

5th Zeljko Muvric, Slovenia

Team England placings;

3rd Elliot Fay

6th Mark Russell

15th Mark Eves

26th Alan Chadbone

John Weeden, England Disabled Manager said

“Everybody in the team worked really hard with us trying various different methods, but unfortunately on the second day we drew two poor pegs which set us back, otherwise we believe we could have gone on to win. Unfortunately, out of ten teams taking part, Team England were the only team that weren’t sponsored. Elliot Fay put on a great performance to make it a double bronze all round.”

“The team would like to thank Tony Troth and Colin Wedgebrow, who drove the vans and did a brilliant job. Also, thanks to Alex Clements who acted as an assistant and to Keith Watson who helped out and went to gain experience with the team.”

The Angling Trust would like to offer their congratulations to the team on such a fantastic achievement this year.