France’s fencers win dramatic epee gold
Baku, September 16, AZERTAC
There was incredible drama in the men’s epee team event at Rio 2016 as world champions France took the Paralympic title by virtual coin toss.
With the scores tied at 41-41 when the clock ran out, the computer generated coin toss determined that France would be the winners if no point was scored within the minute of added time.
With neither France’s Romain Noble or China’s Jianquan Tian landing a decisive blow in the additional minute, the gold was awarded to France.
A key member of the title-winning French epee team was Robert Citerne, who at 55 years old is the oldest wheelchair fencer at Rio 2016¬, his eighth Paralympic Games. This latest title is his fourth Paralympic epee team competition and comes 24 years after his first, won at Barcelona 1992.
In the women’s team epee event China sealed their eighth wheelchair fencing gold of the Games. Individual epee category A winner Xufeng Zou was in excellent form as China took the title 45-35.
Despite defeat in the final there was still cause for celebration for Hong Kong’s Chui Yee Yu. Her appearance on the podium was her eleventh at a Paralympic Games, meaning she breaks the record for the most Paralympic medals of any female wheelchair fencer.
