Dimitri Coutya’s fantastic foil victory helps Bath-based wheelchair fencers end year with impressive medal haul at Thailand World Cup
The University of Bath-based British wheelchair fencing team won one gold, one silver and three bronze medals at the last World Cup of the year in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand – contested as part of the 2023 World Abilitysport Games.
Dimitri Coutya got the week off to an outstanding start, his dominance in the Category B foil competition underlined by a 15-3 victory over France’s Maxime Valet in the final.
He only conceded eight hits in the first two knockout rounds before defeating newly-crowned World Champion Yanke Feng of China 15-13 in the semi-finals.
Training partner Piers Gilliver had to settle for bronze in the Category A epee on this occasion after being edged out 15-14 by China’s Yang Cheng in an evenly-matched semi-final.
Coutya and Gilliver then teamed up with fellow Paralympic Games medallist Oliver Lam-Watson to win silver in the senior team men’s epee competition, only losing out 45-40 to Iraq in a close-fought final.
Gemma Collis, who does some of her training at the Wheelchair Fencing National Training Centre at the Team Bath Sports Training Village, won bronze medals in both the Category A sabre and epee competitions.
GBR have opened their account at the #WheelchairFencing World Cup in Thailand, part of the World Abilitysport Games. Congratulations to Dimitri Coutya for taking gold in Men’s Foil B, and Gemma Collis taking bronze in Women’s Sabre A! 🤺 🏅#GBRFencing pic.twitter.com/A7JXq2tJxT
— British Fencing (@britishfencing) December 6, 2023
The British squad, coached by Peter Rome, now turn their attention to the Paris 2024 Paralympic year which begins with a World Cup closer to home – in Cardiff from 11th to 14th January.
Click here to find out more about the wheelchair fencing programme at the University of Bath.
