Double gold delight for Bath-based wheelchair fencer Joshua Waddell at U23 World Championships

University of Bath-based Joshua Waddell has won double gold at the 2024 Wheelchair Fencing U23 World Championships in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
Waddell, coached by Peter Rome in the Wheelchair Fencing National Training Centre at the Team Bath Sports Training Village, conceded just 19 hits across three bouts as he secured the foil title on Monday.
He then successfully defended the epee title he won 12 months ago in South Korea, although it proved much more close-fought as two of his matches were decided by a single point. That included the final where Waddell held his nerve to beat home favourite Phoopa Sae-Sim 15-14 in a tense conclusion.
What a finish!
Waddell just had the edge in a tense conclusion to the men’s epee final – claiming his second gold of the competition 🥇 pic.twitter.com/6g7uOLygB1
— #WheelchairFencing (@WheelchairFence) April 23, 2024
The results mean that Waddell – a regular medallist in team competitions with Great Britain on the senior international circuit – now has four U23 medals in his collection, having previously won epee gold and foil bronze in 2023.
Visit teambath.com/fencing to find out more about the wheelchair fencing programme at the University of Bath.
Picture credit: SPADT.