Two brothers from Beckton won medals and a trophy in a medieval combat tournament in Germany.
Jevgenij and Aleksej Olechnovic, known as The Beckton Brothers, were chosen to represent Britain at this year’s Rise Of The Knights tournament.
They were selected by Battle Heritage GB, the national organisation for full contact medieval fighting.
The brothers, originally from Lithuania and longtime Beckton residents, have a string of past victories to their name, and were awarded the first place trophy and medals thanks to their fighting skills.
The brothers’ team defeated representatives from Poland, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and France to take the title. The tournament tries to recapture the atmosphere of the Middle Ages for fighters and spectators using music, food, crafts, and costumes from the period.
Aleksej, 27, said: “We fight against each other in full authentic medieval armour.
“It is dangerous, but we do look after each other. We only use very professional armour.
“If you like, we are being hit without hitting. We don’t feel pain.”
He added: “It is more about technique. Still, you can get hurt, like in any extreme sport.”
Aleksej, whose team is has half British and half international members, said he and his brother were proud to represent Britain in the tournament.
He said: “We live here in the UK and are happy here, and so we are very proud to represent Britain.
“In a year and a half we have gone from three members to 30, and we hope to grow from there.”
To find out more about medieval combat fighting and the UK mens’ or womens’ teams, visit www.battleheritage.co.uk.
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