Kruse won his first international medal, a silver, at the 2001 European Under 20 Championships and in 2002 won gold in at the same event. He made his Olympic debut at the
2004 Games in
Athens, Greece. Competing in the
men's individual foil. He received a bye in the first round, beat
China's Wang Haibin in round two and
Dan Kellner of the
United States in the third round before being defeated 8–15 by
Andrea Cassarà in the quarter-finals. His eighth-place finish was the best by a British fencer since the
1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, when
Fiona McIntosh was eighth in the women's foil, and the best by a British man since the
1964 Summer Olympics in
Tokyo, when
Bill Hoskyns won the silver medal in the individual épée. In 2006 Kruse won the silver medal in the men's foil event at the
European Fencing Championships. At the
2008 Summer Olympics in
Beijing, China, Kruse again participated in the
men's individual foil event. He defeated
Virgil Sălișcan of
Romania in the round of 32 but was eliminated at the last 16 stage after a 9–10 loss to
Germany's Peter Joppich. He finished 14th. At the 2011 World Cup event in
Seoul, South Korea, Kruse won the silver medal in the men's foil. he won five matches, including a 15–11 defeat of compatriot
Laurence Halsted in the last eight to reach the final against
Andrea Baldini of Italy. Baldini won the final by a single point, 15–14 to take the gold medal. Kruse is coached by former Polish Olympian turned British national
Ziemowit Wojciechowski. In 2012, Richard Kruse won bronze at the Wakayama Grand Prix. Only 2 months later he claimed another bronze at the European Championships in Legnano, having been seeded 45th after the poule stages. At the
London Olympics later that year, he finished 17th in the men's individual event, losing to
Artur Akhmatkhuzin in the last 32. He was part of the British team that came 6th, losing to Italy in the quarter-finals and then beating France and losing to Russia in the ranking rounds. In 2016 Kruse again attended the Olympic Games in Rio. He placed fourth overall in the Men's Individual Foil, losing to Timur Safin of Russia in the Bronze Medal Match. In 2018 Kruse won silver in the individual men's foil event at the World Championships in Wuxi, China. After winning gold at the Prince Takamodo World Cup in Tokyo, on 26 January 2019, he was ranked number one in the world, the first British fencer to achieve that position. Kruse retired in May 2021. He now works as a fencing coach for Salle Paul Fencing Club in
Hendon. == Medal Record ==