Paralympic fencer Gilliver’s travels have a silver lining

Paris: British fencer Piers Gilliver said he was “gutted” to have to settle for silver in the men’s Paralympics sabre but admitted it was “great even just to be here competing” after struggling with serious concussion last year.

The 29-year-old equated his concussion — due to a clash of heads with an epee sparring partner — to severe jetlag, leaving him unable to concentrate properly.

He found it impossible to carry on a conversation or even to get through watching a film because he had forgotten what had happened earlier.

Gilliver — who won the epee title in Tokyo in 2021 to become Britain’s first Paralympic fencing champion since Carol Walton in 1988 — recovered well enough to be crowned world epee champion later in 2023.

Sabre is relatively new to his box of tricks but he held his nerve in beating Tokyo silver medallist Artem Manko of Ukraine 15-14 in Tuesday’s semi-finals in the magnificent surroundings of the Grand Palais, before losing to Germany’s Martin Schmidt 15-8 in the final.

All the fencers had a much longer day than expected as the event fell behind by over two hours — spectators for the day session had to be asked to move to other seats to accommodate those for the evening one.

Despite Gilliver finally appearing for his final at 11:00pm (2100 GMT) — it had been scheduled for 9:40pm — the stands were still full of spectators, including his parents and girlfriend.

“It’s been a really tough cycle,” the Briton said.

“The last couple of years have been some of the hardest points of my life and there are points where I’ve questioned all sorts of things.

“There have been a lot of challenges and it’s been a tough one to get through, so it’s great to be able to even be here competing, to be honest.”

‘Never-ending maze’

Gilliver, who unlike some of his opponents is confined to a wheelchair owing to the consequences of suffering from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a rare condition that affects connective tissue, said the concussion on top of other setbacks had left him feeling low.

The fencers are seated close together — their wheelchairs are fixed to the ground by metal frames and the chair is clamped to both sides of the frame to keep it from tipping, meaning there is a risk of a clash of heads.

“Someone’s head connecting with yours is not something you can avoid,” he said.

Had Gilliver, who defends his epee title later in the week, stepped away from the sport, he at least has a business interest to fall back on — an antique shop in Bath, southwest England, specialising in World War I and World War II artefacts.

“Ever since I was a kid I’ve always loved history and I think it’s quite important to have something on the side alongside sport,” he said.

“Because I think sport can really be all-consuming where you train long hours, so much more than 9-5 ever would be.

“You get home and you’re still just obsessed about it and you just can’t stop thinking about how to make yourself better and better.”

Gilliver, who took up fencing in 2010 as his mobility declined, said his interests were not limited to the memorabilia linked to wars.

“I think the beauty about history is it’s all about different stories and you can pick different sections,” he said.

“I think even with that it’s a never-ending maze, there’s always something interesting.”

He had come across one very special item, an original, unpublished photograph from the ill-fated liner Titanic, which he found among some military-based postcards.

However, if any of the many Titanic memorabilia hunters are keen to get their hands on it, they are likely to be disappointed.

“I’m still holding onto it and likely to for a very long time,” he said, laughing.