Wheelchair Fencing Preview
Team USA will send its largest contingent of athletes in wheelchair fencing since 2012 to this summer’s Paralympic Games in Tokyo in pursuit of its first gold medal. The three women headed to Tokyo also represent the first time that the U.S. has sent a full women’s team since 2004. Ellen Geddes, Terry Hayes and Shelby Jensen will all be heading to their first Paralympic Games.
Qualification for wheelchair fencing was done by individual athlete name and based on an athlete’s Combined Paralympic Ranking with the top-ranked fencer in each region qualifying for the Tokyo Games. In wheelchair fencing, North America, South America and Africa are combined into a single zone. In order to qualify by region, all individuals must be ranked among the top 25. Geddes and Jensen both were the top-ranked fencer from the Americas/Africa region. Hayes ranked second, but qualified by virtue of the top-ranked fencer changing disciplines.
As in Olympic fencing, wheelchair fencing consists of three disciplines. The epee is a heavy dueling weapon with the target covering the entire upper half of the body. The foil is a lighter weapon with the target area being the torso. And the saber is primarily a cutting weapon where the edge is used to make most hits, anywhere in the upper half of the body. Paralympic competition consists of individual events in all three disciplines and team events in epee and foil.
For wheelchair fencing, chairs are locked into place during a bout. Competitors wear the same sort of safety equipment as Olympic fencers. The same electronic scoring system is also used. Athletes compete in either Category A or B depending on their functional ability.
Updated on July 20, 2021. For more information, contact the sport press officer.