A record 105 countries were represented on the pistes of the CREPS sports facility and the Palais des Sports du Prado in the central French city of Bourges as hundreds of the world’s top young fencers faced off for the title of cadet and junior world champion in early April.

A total of 1,310 fencers registered to take part, just shy of the record of 1,390 set by Plovdiv, Bulgaria, in 2014, but the number of countries represented exceeded Plovdiv’s number by three. Europe, unsurprisingly, brought the largest contingent of 692, with Asia supplying 322 competitors. From the Americas there were 210, while an impressive 86 athletes made the trip from Africa.

Host nation France finished the Junior World Championships with a flourish with gold