Kruse control: Wild cards stop King Richard sitting on the fence

Four years of hard training and improving rankings since he reached the last eight of his first Olympics in Athens had been wasted because he had suffered a stress fracture in the third metatarsal in his lead foot.

Even then it was not any injury that did for him. It was the six weeks of training he lost while it healed. When it came to the qualifying tournament in April, he ran out of stamina in the final fight.

No longer ring-fenced: Richard Kruse

Yesterday, it was confirmed he had been granted a reprieve, and he has the Chinese to thank. As host nation, it had eight wild cards for its fencers but because most qualified themselves on world rankings, the country needed only two.

The other six were redistributed, and yesterday the British Olympic Association announced that Kruse would be joining Alex O'Connell who qualified by right in the British team in Beijing. "I am a very lucky man," said Kruse, 24, a Londoner who won the silver medal in foil in the 2006 European championships.

"I thought I wasn't going for a month and a bit. I knew there were wild cards but I wasn't optimistic. In fact I didn't think there was much chance I'd get one. It was a pretty dark period.

"I had put in a lot of work and it looked like it was going to be wasted. Injury is a horrible way to lose out, and it was worse because I knew I was good enough to have qualified in normal circumstances."

Now Kruse is Britain's best chance of a medal. "I was top eight last time. I'd be disappointed if that was the best I did this time. Given a good draw, I think I can make the final four even though I am lucky to be going at all," he says.

"I am fit again. I've competed since in China, Japan and in Cuba I beat France's world number two. That proved to me that on my day I can beat the best in the world."