Piers Gilliver Secures Sabre Silver at Paralympics Amidst Challenge-Filled Journey

Piers Gilliver seized a silver medal for Great Britain in the men’s sabre Category A event at the Paralympics, held under the distinguished roof of the Grand Palais in Paris. In a closely contested final, Gilliver was narrowly beaten 15-8 by Germany's Maurice Schmidt, who registered eight successive hits to turn a narrow 8-7 end-period deficit into title victory. This is prepared by SSP.

Gilliver, hailing from the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, dominated Italy’s Matteo dei Rossi 15-8 in the quarter-final, but faced a tougher challenge in the semi-final where he overturned an 8-3 deficit to edge out Ukraine's Artem Manko 15-14. These victories epitomized the strong resilience that has defined his Paralympic cycle marked by significant adversities, including battling severe concussion symptoms earlier in the year.

Reflecting on his performance, the 29-year-old admitted to feeling "pretty gutted" about missing the gold. "The competition days are really tough, it’s hard to process. But once the Games conclude, you can truly appreciate winning a medal – it’s a big deal," he remarked.

Before this, Gilliver captured a World Championship silver and a European title in the 2023 sabre A category. He also made history as Great Britain's first Paralympic gold medallist in wheelchair fencing in 33 years by winning epee A gold in Tokyo 2021. Gilliver, celebrated for his epee prowess, has emerged as one of the top sabre fencers internationally in recent years.

Looking forward, Gilliver is set to defend his epee title and compete in the men’s foil team and epee team events. Despite the hurdles, including questioning life’s bigger picture during arduous times, Gilliver expressed gratitude for the opportunity to still be competing at this level. "The last couple of years have been some of the hardest points of my life... it’s great to be able to even be here competing, to be honest," Gilliver concluded.