History to be made in Warsaw at sabre team, category C Worlds

History will be made in Warsaw, Poland, from Monday (5 July) as athletes line-up for the first stand-alone International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) Wheelchair Fencing team sabre and category C World Championships.

All events will be shown live at the IWAS YouTube channel. Results will also be available here.

As part of continuing efforts to grow wheelchair fencing and provide chances for athletes with high support needs to compete at the highest level, the category C Worlds will kick-off the action in Warsaw.

A number of medallists return to the piste hoping to defend their crowns from the 2019 World Championships in Cheongju, South Korea, where category C fencers competed alongside category A and B athletes.

Ukraine’s Serhii Shavkun will be hoping for a repeat performance against Russia’s Dmitry Belyaev, after beating him in the final two years ago. Italy’s William Russo competes as the bronze medallist.

Belyaev also claimed a podium finish in the foil with bronze. He will face-off with Russia’s defending champion Nikolay Lukyanov and Dmitrijs Valainis who took home silver in 2019.

Italy’s Nora Consuelo is a top contender in the women’s as the reigning epee gold medallist and bronze medal winner from the foil. Due to the number of competitors, the women’s programme will be unofficial.

Monday’s schedule features the epee for men and women whilst the foil medallists will be decided on Tuesday (6 July).

Team sabre

Also being held as a way of raising the profile of an event not currently contested at the Paralympics is the first ever team sabre World Championships.

Countries have competed in both the men’s and women’s team at many previous World Championships, including in 2019, but never at a Worlds on its own.

The competition will be a great barometer for Tokyo 2020, where the addition of the women’s sabre category A and B brings a full individual medals programme to the Paralympics.

Ukraine are the ones to watch in both genders as the world champions from the men’s team and bronze medallists in the women’s.

The Russian team of Viktor Dronov, Maxim Shaburov, Aleksandr Kurzin and Roman Fedyaev head onto the piste having collected third place in 2019. Russia have an ace card in Kurzin as the individual world title holder.

In the women’s Georgia enter as the silver medallists from last time around.

The men will clash on 5 July followed by the women on 6 July.

The 2021 IWAS Wheelchair Fencing Team Sabre and Category C World Championships will be followed shortly after by the final IWAS Wheelchair Fencing World Cup ahead of Tokyo 2020. Competition will take place from 8-11 July, also in Warsaw.