Wheelchair Fencing Day 1 round Up

Wheelchair Fencing Day 1 Round Up

After two official training days the Wheelchair Fencing Competition of the 2012 Paralympics started yesterday with the Foil events at the Excel Centre in London.

After 48 hours of continuous building work the venue contractors and volunteers pulled off an amazing job to convert the hall previously used for the visually impaired Judo event into a fully functioning international standard fencing hall. It is a truly amazing sight with large screens, scoreboards and 8 pistes for completion on a 4 foot high raised platform with spectator seating arranged in a bowl around it allowing unrestricted views.

The early session was a near sell out with very few empty seats in the house. The atmosphere was electric and a large contingent of French supporters made their presence known early on but were soon finding competition tough with the home crowd who really turned up the volume especially when Paralympics GB fencer Justine Moore was in action, who had a thrilling fight with Palfi of Hungary, Moore 4-1 up in the first to five fight was quickly reined back in to a nail-biting 4-4 scoreline, but she sent the crowd wild by getting the final hit to win the match 5-4. Moore was unfortunate not to win any further poule matches but finished a credible 10^th place in her first Paralympics in the Women’s Category B Foil competition.

China dominated the medals on day one and left the European coaches lamenting a tough day at the office and contemplating how to compete against the Asian powerhouses.

I must say a huge thank you to the hundreds of volunteers who make our games happen, their commitment, enthusiasm and drive has been amazing and we look forward to another great day of competition today as we begin the Epee discipline.

Results

Mens Cat A Foil

Gold Medal – Ruyi Ye, China

Silver Medal – Yijun Chen, China

Bronze Medal – Richard Osvath, Hungary

Womens Cat A Foil

Gold Medal – Chui Yee Yu, Hong Kong

Silver Medal – Baili Wu, China

Bronze Medal – Zsuzsanna Krajnyak, Hungary

Mens Cat B Foil

Gold Medal – Daoliang Hu, China

Silver Medal – Anton Datsko, Ukraine

Bronze Medal – Alim Latreche, France

Womens Cat B Foil

Gold Medal – Fang Yao, China

Silver Medal – Gyongyi Dani, Hungary

Bronze Medal – Marta Makowska, Poland

Article written by Neil Ross IWAS Wheelchair Fencing Committee Member