Dimitri Coutya and Britain's para fencing stars secured two bronze medals on the opening day of the European Championships in Cardiff, with the double Paris Paralympic champion praising the team effort behind the podium finishes.
Coutya, 28, was part of the mixed epee team alongside Piers Gilliver, Gemma Collis and Justine Moore, who beat Italy in the bronze medal bout after a semi-final defeat to Poland. Just a couple of hours later, Coutya, Collis, Moore and Oliver Lam-Watson joined forces to defeat France for the final place on the podium, following a last-four loss to Hungary.
Team effort praised after double bronze
"It was a really good team effort from us today," said Coutya. "I'm really proud of how everyone fenced. We put in a lot of work for this over the summer, so to come home with a bronze on home soil is really great. Doing two events back-to-back is mentally really tough. Even though they're shorter, condensed versions, it's a big ask of everyone. But I'm proud of everyone the way they handled it, so it's more positives for the rest of the week."
Coutya, an eight-time European champion, will compete in his individual events throughout the week and hopes to continue the momentum in the first qualification event for the LA2028 Paralympic Games.
Historic home championship
Ukraine beat Poland to claim the opening gold of the championships at the Sport Wales National Centre, which is hosting the first European Championships to be held in the UK since Sheffield 15 years ago. Gilliver fenced the final epee bout against the Italians and hauled Britain over the line to claim his tenth overall European medal.
With Lam-Watson in for Gilliver for the foil event in the afternoon, the home quartet emulated those exploits to topple France, while Italy took gold ahead of Hungary.
Medallists look ahead
Four-time Paralympic medallist Lam-Watson, 33, said: "We've got a long way to climb but we've got the experience there to do so. We made the best of a difficult situation – next time hopefully we'll be back stronger."
Four-time Paralympian Collis, 33, added: "Another bronze medal is a great way to start the week. I think we wanted slightly more if I'm honest, but it was a great team performance."
The Para Fencing European Championships, supported by funding from UK Sport through The National Lottery and Welsh Government, is being held in Cardiff from 6th-11th October 2026, seeing athletes from across Europe compete in the first qualification event for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games.
