- Who has claimed the men's épée individual A wheelchair fencing Paralympic crown?
- 2008:
CHN - 2004:
FRA - 2000:
POL - 1996:
HKG
- Who has claimed the women's team Paralympic crown?
- 2008:CHN
- 2004:HKG
- 2000:POL
- 1996:
GER
The Athletes
What inspires a Paralympic fencer? In the case of British ace Vivien Mills it’s Beefy, Escape To Victory and the dulcet sounds of M People…
Wheelchair fencing's elder statesman is the British No.1 and shows his opponents no mercy. Meet Simon Wilson...
How it works: Wheelchair fencing
Competitors' wheelchairs are clamped to the floor so they're stationary and the distance between them fixed. Athletes take their swords - foil, épée or sabre - and score points by hitting specific target areas.
What you need to know
Speed is the key to fencing - and when we say it's fast, we mean blink, and you will miss it! The tip of a fencing sword is the second speediest object in sport, topped only by a rifle shooter's bullet.
Wheelchair fencing is even older than the Paralympic Games themselves, and was first introduced at the 1953 Stoke International Games by Sir Ludwig Guttmann, the German neurologist who founded the Paralympic Games in 1960.
Fencing is quite literally electric. A button on the sword's point registers when a hit is made on the competitor's conductive apron, which is then transmitted to the electronic scoring board.
Vivienne Mills won bronze in the women's foil at the Montreal 2010 World Cup, so will fancy her chances of success on home soil in 2012.
The sport has been popular in Europe since 1953, but it wasn't until the 1970s and 1980s that its appeal spread like wildfire to North America and Asia.
What to say: Wheelchair fencing
"Beat him! Bind him!" The former is an attempt to send the opponent's blade flying; the latter refers to when their blade is pushed into a different line.
Who's good: Wheelchair fencing
The Italians started well - at the very first Paralympic Games in Rome they won all three fencing events. Nowadays, China and Hong Kong dominate with France, Poland and Ukraine currently the best in Europe.
Inside stories
A clash of steel in Sheffield
Our round up of the IWAS Wheelchair Fencing European Championships day two
The generation game
En garde! Two fencing legends with 30 years between them - but who's the best?
Video
Upcoming events
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