Coutya Clinches Second Paris Gold as GB Surpasses Tokyo Medal Count.

Britain’s Dimitri Coutya secured his second gold medal at the Paris Paralympics with a commanding performance in the men’s individual epee B final.

With his latest win, Dimitri Coutya brought ParalympicsGB’s total gold medals to 42, surpassing their Tokyo total of 41. 

The 26-year-old Londoner triumphed 15-10 over Thailand’s Visit Kingmanaw in the men’s individual epee B final, adding to his earlier foil title.

Team-mate Piers Gilliver, aiming to defend his epee A title, lost 15-12 to China’s Sun Gang but secured a silver medal. This brings ParalympicsGB’s total medal count in France to 100, meeting the UK Sport target with two days of competition remaining.

At Tokyo, Coutya had won silver and three bronzes, including one in epee. In Paris, he also secured a foil team silver with Piers Gilliver and Oliver Lam-Watson. 

Coutya’s journey included a 15-7 win over American Noah Hanssen, a 15-10 victory against Italy’s Michele Massa in the quarter-finals, and a 15-13 win over Poland’s Michal Dabrowski in the semi-finals.

In the final against Kingmanaw, with the score tied at 7-7, Dimitri Coutya took control by winning six of the next points. Despite his strong finish, Coutya faced challenges earlier in the competition.

"I thought I might be out after struggling in my first match," he admitted. "But with a lot of hard work and support from my team, friends, and family, I found my form and ended up with a gold medal. It’s still sinking in, and I’m thrilled."

Piers Gilliver, who became Britain’s first gold medallist in the sport in 33 years at Tokyo and is the current world champion, had a strong start, defeating opponents decisively. He reached his third consecutive final but was beaten by Sun Gang, who took an early lead and reclaimed his title.