VIDEO: Go behind the scenes of EIS wheelchair fencing ‘medal factory’ at the University of Bath with six months to Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
With exactly six months to go until the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games get under way, we have been behind the scenes with the GB wheelchair fencing medal hopefuls at their University of Bath training base to learn more about their successful programme.
Rio 2016 silver-medallist Piers Gilliver and fellow World Champion Dimitri Coutya have dominated the international wheelchair fencing scene during the past four years, winning multiple global titles and dozens of medals on the IWAS World Cup circuit.
They are coached by Peter Rome on the EIS World-Class Wheelchair Fencing Programme, which has been based at the University’s £35million Sports Training Village since 2015 and continues to go from strength to strength.
Full-time athletes Gilliver and Coutya, along with training partners Oliver Lam-Watson and Shah Rashid, spend much of their time sparring in the same fencing hall used by Pentathlon GB athletes training towards the Olympic Games.
They also do cardio work on the indoor and outdoor athletics tracks, as well as strength and conditioning training in the high-performance gym, with Gilliver and Coutya praising the impact the all-round approach and multi-sport environment has had on their consistently excellent performances.
Find out more about the programme here:
Gilliver and Coutya are among a number of potential Paralympics GB athletes training towards Tokyo at the University of Bath STV.
Reigning Paralympic Champion Stephanie Millward, who trains with the Team Bath AS Performance Swimming squad in the London 2012 Legacy Pool, is hoping to be selected for her fourth Games.
Athletes Sophie Kamlish, the 2017 World Champion, and Polly Maton also do some of their training at the STV.
Stay up to date with all the build-up to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic and Olympic Games by clicking here.
