Bath-based wheelchair fencer wins double gold

University of Bath-based wheelchair fencer Piers Gilliver won double gold when he competed at the IWAS World Cup in Pisa, Italy over the weekend.

As well as taking the title in his specialist epee discipline, the weapon he won silver with at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, Gilliver also struck gold on his international sabre debut.

Gilliver, a sporting ambassador for Team Bath partners MJ Church, won four of his five poule contests in Friday's sabre competition to earn a bye to the last 16.

He then overcame Poland’s Rafal Ziomek 15-4 and Ukrainian duo Vol Holovashchenko and Artem Manko, 15-11 and 15-9 respectively, to reach the final, where a 15-9 win over Ukraine’s Andrii Demchuk secured gold.

Gilliver continued his fantastic form on Sunday, winning all five of his epee poule bouts to progress to the last 16 as the top-ranked qualifier.

After brushing aside Brazil’s Sandro Colaco 15-1, he beat Robert Citerne of France 15-10 before racing to another 15-1 victory in the semi-finals, this time against Dariusz Pender of Poland.

Italy’s Matteo Betti awaited in the final but Gilliver was in peerless form again as he won 15-3 to clinch a second gold in three days.

Gilliver, whose lead coach is Peter Rome, has been based at the Sports Training Village for the past two years, sparring with the Pentathlon GB squad and Bath Sword Club in the fencing salle.