Richard Kruse, from West Finchley, was cruelly denied a medal in the Olympics men's foil after a 15-13 defeat by Russian Timur Safin.

A gallant fight-back from 13-7 down to level the match against 24-year-old Safin proved not enough, as the dream of a debut individual medal slipped away at the Carioca Arena.

Fighting in his fourth Olympic games, Kruse had never threatened a podium appearance since he first took part in Athens in 2004, but defied the odds to reach the semi-finals in Rio De Janeiro earlier today.

There he took an early lead against American Alexander Massialas, but was eventually beaten 15-9.

The 52-year wait for a British fencing medal looked likely to continue early on in the bronze medal tie, with Kruse falling 5-2 behind, and when sat six points behind with Safin two from victory, it appeared the point of no return had been reached.

But Kruse rallied brilliantly to bring the match level without the Russian winning another point - before at the crucial moment, Safin regained his composure to take the bronze medal.

The 33-year-old could not hide his disappointment at the end of the tie - but can look back with pride after bettering his previous best Olympic finish of eighth, set in 2004.