10 Russian Paralympians to Compete at Wheelchair Fencing World Championships in Turkey

From June 15 to 22, the World Youth Paralympic Games are being held in the city of Mersin (Turkey), with competitions in eight sports included in the program.

As part of the Games, the Wheelchair Fencing World Championships for boys and girls under 23 will take place from June 17 to 19.

Around 70 athletes from 22 countries will compete for medals at the world championships in individual foil, épée, and sabre events among athletes in categories A and B.

Russian para-fencers will take part in the competition: Aglaya Davydova and Vlada Semikova (Saint Petersburg), Victoria Tikhonova (Moscow), Maria Shumeykina, Ilya Chernyshov, and Vadim Shenfeld (Novosibirsk Oblast), Denis Merkulov (Omsk Oblast), Valentin Seleznev (Republic of Bashkortostan), Tamerlan Chiviev (Republic of North Ossetia–Alania), and Emil Yusupov (Republic of Tatarstan).

Competition schedule:

June 17 – épée (girls), sabre (boys);
June 18 – foil (boys), sabre (girls);
June 19 – foil (girls), épée (boys).

Wheelchair fencing is a Paralympic sport. It was included in the program of the 1st Summer Paralympic Games in 1960 in Rome (Italy). Men and women with amputations, spinal cord injuries, and cerebral palsy compete. Athletes fence while seated in fixed wheelchairs at arm's length, using weapons (foil, sabre, or épée). A touch to the valid target area scores a point, and hits are registered using electronic equipment. Unlike foil and sabre, in épée bouts all touches are counted. Officiating in Paralympic fencing follows the rules of the International Fencing Federation.