Piers Gilliver believes Britain's battling mixed team epee bronze can lay the foundations for a memorable week at the Para Fencing European Championships in Cardiff.
The Gloucester star, 32, delivered a dominant display to topple Italy in the bronze medal match and propel the British team onto the podium in the opening event of the competition.
The Tokyo Paralympic champion beat Emanuele Lambertini as he, Dimitri Coutya, Gemma Collis and Justine Moore bounced back from their semi-final defeat against Poland.
New format brings early reward
Gilliver goes again in his individual events throughout the week and hopes to continue the momentum in what marks the maiden European-based qualification event for the LA2028 Paralympic Games.
“It’s a bit of a change in event for us, we’re all still quite new to this [mixed format],” he said. “It’s nice to start to get going with this new format and get some results on the board as well.
“I think it’s really important to get off to a good start – that first event is always important. This is the first qualifier for the Games, so to have the first one on home soil is really nice. It’s the perfect start to get going for the rest of the week.”
Hosts battle back after Poland defeat
Ukraine beat Poland to claim the opening gold up for grabs 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 bout against the Italians in the Welsh capital and hauled Britain over the line to claim his tenth overall European medal.
The British team had beaten Hungary in their opening clash before defeat against a pumped-up Polish outfit dashed their hopes of gold. But they regathered their composure when it mattered to battle onto the podium and get the host nation off to a medal-winning start.
Team effort praised
Double Paris Paralympic champion Coutya, 28, said: “It was a really good team effort from us today.
“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.”
The Para Fencing European Championships, supported by funding from UK Sport through The National Lottery, and Welsh Government, is being held in Cardiff on the 6th-11th October 2026, seeing athletes from across Europe compete in the first qualification event for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games.
