Wheelchair fencer Maurice Schmidt sensationally won the fourth German gold medal at the Paralympic Games in Paris.
The 25-year-old won the sabre final against Piers Gilliver from Great Britain with 15:8 and celebrated by far the greatest success of his career in the magnificent Grand Palais. From early afternoon onwards, the Böblingen athlete, who competes with dysmelia, went on an unexpected winning streak over the four knockout rounds.
Schmidt had no trouble in the first two rounds. In the opening match he defeated the American William Schoonover 15:3, before beating the Hungarian Richard Osvath 15:10 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals he then narrowly defeated the Tokyo third-place finisher Tian Jianquan from China 15:12.
At world level, Schmidt had never won a medal at a major event before, but at European championships he won one silver (2022) and two bronzes (2022, 2024). On Friday, the environmental engineering student will compete with the épée. Previously, swimmers Josia Topf and Tanja Scholz and sports shooter Natascha Hiltrop won gold for the German team.
Source: www.sport.de
