Dimitri Coutya

After joining St Benedict’s school in 2009, Dimitri took up fencing as a games option, with club sessions on Wednesdays and Thursdays. By competing in small national competitions he was noticed by national coaches who suggested he start to train at wheelchair fencing camps alongside the GB team.  

His first competition on the domestic calendar was the 2009 Chichester Open, where he won bronze. Two years later he competed at the 2011 UK School Games where he won another bronze medal. This sparked his decision to further pursue fencing; to train alongside the GB team and aspire to compete in Rio.

A year later he won a gold and silver medal at the 2012 UK School Games and was also selected to experience London 2012 as part of the BPA’s Paralympic Inspiration Programme, to gain insight into the unique environment of the Games, which further confirmed his aspirations.

In 2014, Dimitri broke through on the international stage with a bronze medal win in the foil at the World Cup in Eger, Hungary. In 2015, he went on to win five World Cup medals in both foil and epée and, at the age of 17, he won silver in the foil event at the 2015 IWAS Wheelchair Fencing World Championships in Eger, Hungary.

Ahead of his first selection to ParalympicsGB, Dimitri won silver in foil and bronze in epée at the 2016 European Championships. 

Dimitri made his Paralympic debut at Rio 2016, where he progressed to the quarter-final stages in both the category B foil and epée events.

2016 IWAS Wheelchair Fencing European Championships, Turin, Italy

• Individual Category B men’s foil: Silver
• Individual Category B men’s epee: Bronze

2015 IWAS Wheelchair Fencing World Championships, Eger, Hungary

• Individual Category B men’s foil: Silver

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