Double Paris Paralympic champion Dimitri Coutya celebrated his 29th birthday on Wednesday by clinching a ninth European gold medal, but admitted there is plenty to improve on after surviving a late wobble to secure a 15-13 epee victory over Italian Amelio Castro in Cardiff.
Coutya let an initially comfortable lead slip against Castro but regrouped to grind out a nervy win in front of a raucous home crowd and his parents, Najib and Nelly, who have travelled around the world to watch him and were present for his birthday in the Welsh capital.
Mixed feelings after close finale
Coutya, who will target a tenth continental crown in the foil event later this week, was looking forward to celebrating but insisted he was not content after the close-fought finale.
“It’s a mixed bag – it’s obviously good to get the gold in the first qualifying event [for LA2028],” he said. “But in terms of long-term goals and how we want to be fencing in LA, there are a lot of things I could have done better today, particularly in the second half of that match.
“While I’m happy that the win happened, I know there are a lot of things I could have done much better.”
Home support in Cardiff
The European Championships are being held in the UK for the first time since Sheffield in 2011, hosted at the Sport Wales National Centre near Sophia Gardens. Coutya, the defending Paralympic, world and European champion, had secured mixed team epee and foil bronzes on Tuesday before winning his individual epee event with victories over Ruslan Zimnitski, Balwinder Cheema, Oleg Sukhoteplyi and Castro.
His parents, based in Ealing, cheered him on in Cardiff. Dad Najib said: “We’re so proud. It’s been a joy watching him do this for the last 14 years of his life.” Mum Nelly added: “I’m so proud of him – we’ve always supported him and his dream. He’s so passionate about fencing – he has created some amazing memories for the whole family.”
The Para Fencing European Championships, supported by funding from UK Sport through The National Lottery and Welsh Government, runs in Cardiff from 6th-11th October 2026, serving as the first qualification event for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games.
