Dominant Dimitri Coutya bags brilliant golden double at wheelchair fencing World Cup in Sao Paulo
University of Bath-based wheelchair fencer Dimitri Coutya has been in dominant form to secure two gold medals in as many days at the latest IWASF World Cup in Sao Paulo.
Training partner Piers Gilliver, who is a MJ Church Ambassador, is also hoping to be on the podium twice in Brazil after starting his competition with a bronze medal in the Category A sabre.
Reigning World and European Champion Coutya began the week in the Category B foil, where he won all of his pool bouts to earn a bye to the last 16.
He then conceded just 19 hits in four knockout rounds, defeating Iraq’s Ammar Ali 15-3 and Italy’s Marco Cima 15-6 before winning 15-5 in both the semi-final and final against Russian duo Timur Khamatshin and Albert Kamalov respectively.
Coutya also faced Ali in the last 16 of the following day’s Category B epee competition and recorded a 15-12 victory before overcoming Russia’s Alexander Kurzin 15-4 in the quarter-finals.
A 15-9 defeat of Alexander Kuzyukov set up a final showdown with Ukraine’s Oleg Naumenko, where Coutya – coached by Peter Rome at the University’s Sports Training Village – again performed superbly to clinch his second title with a 15-6 success.
Gilliver will hope to replicate that success today (Friday) in his specialist discipline, the Category A epee, having won bronze in the sabre on Wednesday.
After easing to a 15-3 victory over France’s Robert Citerne in the last 16, Gilliver recorded an excellent 15-12 win against Russia’s Maxim Shaburov before being edged out by the same scoreline in his semi-final against Andrii Demchuk of Ukraine.
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