Golden hat-trick for wheelchair fencers Piers Gilliver and Dmitri Coutya at Netherlands World Cup
University of Bath-based wheelchair fencers Piers Gilliver and Dmitri Coutya won a hat-trick of gold medals during an outstanding weekend at the IWAS World Cup in Stadskanaal, the Netherlands.
Rio 2016 silver-medallist Gilliver, a sporting ambassador for Team Bath partners MJ Church, continued his superb start to the Tokyo 2020 cycle by winning the Category A epee title.
Coutya, who joined Gilliver at the Sports Training Village post Rio, made history for the British Disabled Fencing Association by winning Category B gold in both the foil and epee.
Gilliver, who recently received an Honorary Blue at the University of Bath Blues Awards, followed up his gold at the last World Cup in Italy by once again dominating his epee competition.
After winning all five of his poule bouts, he conceded just 25 hits in the four knockout rounds as he went on to beat Poland’s Norbert Calka 15-6 in the final.
Coutya was in sparkling form in Stadskanaal, starting with a fantastic foil competition that saw him progress through the group unbeaten and then ease through the knockout stages before defeating Maxime Valet of France 15-9 to take gold.
The Rio 2016 Paralympian then excelled in the epee the following day, progressing from the pool as number-two seed. He conceded just nine hits in his first two knockout bouts, then beat Iraq’s Ammar Ali 15-10 in the semi-finals before taking his second gold in 24 hours with a 15-9 victory over Jovane Guissone of Brazil.
Both Gilliver and Coutya are coached by Peter Rome and train in the fencing salle at the University of Bath, also sparring with Pentathlon GB’s elite athletes and Bath Sword Club.
