Confidence key for France’s Bride

In April, the 22-year-old stepped onto the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports (IWAS) Wheelchair Fencing podium for the first time, winning bronze in the women’s sabre and epee category A in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

“I thought: now is the time to start having fun, doing the show and winning,” Vide said of her performance. She has since added three more World Cup podium finishes.

Vide started fencing aged eight and made her international debut as a teenager in 2015. The youngster claimed medals at the youth World Championships in both 2017 and 2019. With her head firmly in the game, Vide was not aware of the major names she was fencing against when she first started.

“My first world cup was in Paris, I was very happy to discover a new environment. I was especially happy to be fencing with a jacket with my name on it, because it was the first time. I didn’t realise that I was fighting with the best in the world, but I was fascinated when I watched the other fencers.”

Now, with another two World Cups to go this year, as well as her European Championships debut, Vide is feeling confident:

“I worked hard to give my best and exceed my previous results,” Vide said of her first taste of the top. “I was not surprised but very happy and moved every time I won a match that allowed me to go to the next round. I was very proud to be on the podium, and once I got off the podium, I immediately told myself that I wanted that bronze medal to become silver or gold.”

The progress she has made in 2022 has given her a boost.

“I am still the same fencer who continues to work every day to be better. But I feel more confident in my daily work.”

Vide’s attitude and focus will stand her in good stead as she approaches her home Paralympics in Paris in 2024.

“There will be my family, my friends, all the people who share my daily life. Every time I think about it, I say to myself that I absolutely have to be there because it will be great! And the Grand Palais is a very beautiful place, it is an honour to be able to compete there.

“Of course, we often think about it, because it is a final goal. I would like to be on the top step of the podium!

“I will focus on my work, continue what I have started and give my best every day. We’re going to take it one competition at a time, one step at a time, to be at the top in two years.”

But first, the European Championships. Taking place in Warsaw, Poland, from 29 November – 4 December, Vide will be up against some of the world’s best fencers.

That hasn’t phased her before.

“Whatever the competition, my goal is the same: To make the show, and give the best of my fencing.”

As well as European Championships, two more World Cups in Pisa, Italy (22-25 September) and Eger, Hungary (17-20 November) will round-off the season.