Wheelchair Fencing Day 2 Round Up

Wheelchair Fencing Day 2 round up

Following the hotly contested Foil competition the Wheelchair Fencing weapon changes to Epee, the heaviest of the 3 weapons that are used for competition. The Epee is closely related to the duelling weapon favoured for settling matters of honour. The modern competition weapon however has a spring loaded tip that registers hits electronically. The weight needed to depress the tip is equivalent to the pressure needed to puncture human skin!

Another full house at the Excel Centre saw some fierce battles with GB hopes again resting on the young shoulders of Justine Moore who had one win in the poule stages which sadly wasn’t enough to see her progress to the elimination stages.

European teams had a much better day at the office taking the lion’s share of medals, history was made in the Men’s Category B Epee as Brazil won Gold and their first ever Paralympic medal in fencing. Which will surely be a huge boost for the country and he South Americas, as they will be hosting the next Paralympics in Rio 2016. And Chui Yee Yu confirmed her dominance in the women’s Category A Epee by making it two out of two Gold medals in two days becoming double Paralympic Champion in Foil and Epee for Hong Kong.

The sheer logistics of hosting a games is a huge undertaking. Feeding so many athletes, officials, volunteers and staff on time must be a nightmare to organise, but I am pleased to say the quality of the food has been exceptional. A major player in the soft drinks world is a sponsor of the event and everywhere you go behind the scenes there are fridges with free drinks and water – it’s going to be very hard to adjust after the games and actually have to pay for stuff!

Results                                                                  

Mens Cat A Epee

Gold Medal – Dariusz Pender, Poland

Silver Medal – Romain Noble, France

Bronze Medal – Matteo Betti, Italy

Womens Cat A Epee

Gold Medal – Chui Yee Yu, Hong Kong

Silver Medal –Zsuzsanna Krajnyak, Hungary

Bronze Medal – Baili Wu, China

Mens Cat B Epee

Gold Medal – Jovane Silva Guissone, Brazil

Silver Medal – Chik Sum Tam, Hong Kong

Bronze Medal – Alim Latreche, France

Womens Cat B Epee

Gold Medal – Saysunee Jana, Thailand

Silver Medal – Simone Briese-Baetke, Germany

Bronze Medal – Yui Chong Chan, Hong Kong

Article written by Neil Ross