Dimitri Coutya became the youngest wheelchair fencer in Great Britain to ever win a World Cup when he took the Gold in the Epee Cat B event in Montreal at the beginning of May aged just 17. Dimitri, who is studying for his A Levels at St Benedict’s School in Ealing, is now ranked 2nd in Epee and 5th in Foil in the Paralympic Qualification rankings for the Rio Olympics.
Dimitri got off to a flying start in the epee, steamrolling his way through a 6 victory win in the poule rounds. This gave him a bye through the first round, before he recorded a 15-4 victory over Joey Brinson of the USA. His next fight held a real challenge, Chik Sum Tam from Hong Kong, the silver medallist from the London Paralympic Games and the reason Dimitri lost out on medals in his previous competition. Dimitri was nervous right up until the referee called play on the first hit but, after several close exchanges, he emerged victorious with a 15-12 score, having stayed ahead for the whole fight.
His next fight was not going to be any easier - he was to face Hu Daoliang, the Chinese athlete who had knocked him out of the Foil competition the previous day. Dimitri takes up the commentary: 'I kept my cool, patiently waiting for an opening to present itself. In the end, I scored five straight hits in a row to win 15-12 and progress to the finals, where I was to face world number 1 Alexander Kuzyukov of Russia. I was ready for it. I lost the first two points, then stormed through to a 15-8 victory!'
Denis Cranwell, Head of Fencing at St Benedict’s said: 'We are so proud of Dimitri. He joined the school at the age of eleven, never having fenced before, and was taken on by our fencing coach Jon Sloman. What a fantastic journey so far! We are continuing to support him through the provision of training facilities, coaching and fundraising for the Rio Olympics.'
By Marek Nalewajko
