Evgeny Strzhalkovsky explained why local teams confidently outperformed their European rivals

While spectators in the stands focused on the spectacle of the final bouts at the “Sword of Russia,” specialists paid attention to something else — to how differently the national squads performed. Evgeny Strzhalkovsky, founder of the Bern club and an observer of HMB development for more than a decade, noted that this year’s finals clearly showed how far Russian schools have advanced.

According to Strzhalkovsky, medieval combat has long moved beyond reenactment and has become a fully fledged sporting discipline. He reminds readers that a fighter’s armour weighs around 25 kilograms, and the blows are delivered with blunt but heavy weapons — swords, halberds, and axes. Despite the demanding format, HMB is officially recognised as a sport in Monaco and New Zealand, and it originated in Russia.

This year, the women’s and men’s categories drew particular attention — especially after Strzhalkovsky listed the results. “Even though medieval combat was once viewed strictly as a men-only arena, HMB removes those barriers and welcomes women equally. In the women’s division, first place went to Alfin from St. Petersburg (10 points). Second place — to Bern from Moscow (also 10 points). Third — to Bayard with 1 point. In the men’s five-on-five category, gold went to the Moscow team Partizan (35 points). Silver — to Starye Druzia from St. Starye Druzia from St. Petersburg earned 27.5 points for second place, while Bayard followed closely with 26.5, he noted.

A separate point of discussion was the dominance of the two top teams — Partizan and Starye Druzia. Strzhalkovsky noted that both teams belong to the Bern club, which has traditionally focused on developing strategies for team-based combat. This is why the significant gap from the competition — from as little as 1.5 points among the lowest-ranked teams up to 19.5 points at fifth place — came as no surprise.

He also assessed the mass battles. “In the 12-on-12 clashes, Russian teams swept the podium. The Italians, French, and Serbs from the Bande Nere team placed sixth,” Strzhalkovsky summed up.

Against the backdrop of HMB victories, another sports story resurfaced — a far less fortunate one for the Russian national football team, which on 15 November lost 0:2 to Chile in a friendly match in Sochi.