Piers Gilliver

{{Infobox fencer

| name = Piers Gilliver
MBE

| image = 2024 Summer Paralympics men's wheelchair fencing, Poland v Great Britain - épée (12) (cropped).jpg

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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1994|09|17|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Gloucester, England

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| weapon = Épée A / Sabre A

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| club = University of Bath

| natlcoach = Peter Rome

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| disability_class = A

| medaltemplates = {{MedalSport | Wheelchair fencing}}

{{MedalCountry | {{GBR2}} }}

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Piers Alexander Gilliver (born 17 September 1994) is a British wheelchair fencer, who competes in both épée and sabre. He is the 2020 Paralympic champion in the Individual Épée, A classification. He is the first British Paralympic champion in the sport since Carol Walton in 1988.

Gilliver has previously won medals at both World and European Championship level. In 2016 he represented Great Britain at the Rio Paralympics and won a silver medal {{cite web |url=https://www.paralympic.org/asp/lib/TheASP.asp?pageid=8937&sportid=-1&personid=1201887 |title=Gilliver, Piers |accessdate=13 September 2016 |work=paralympic.org}}{{dead link|date=February 2024}}

Personal history

Gilliver was born in Gloucester, England on 17 September 1994.{{cite web |title=Piers Gilliver |url=https://www.britishfencing.com/athletes/piers-gilliver/ |website=British Fencing |access-date=3 September 2024}} He attended Hopebrook C of E School in Longhope. He has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome a congenital illness which in 2007 left him as a full-time wheelchair user.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/disability-sport/29883011 |title=Piers Gilliver: Wheelchair fencer faces uncertain future |first=Elizabeth |last=Hudson |accessdate=13 September 2016 |work=BBC Sport}}

Wheelchair fencing career

Gilliver first got into wheelchair fencing in 2010 at his local fencing club in Cheltenham after looking for a new sport as his mobility decreased.{{cite web |url=http://rio.paralympics.org.uk/meet-the-team/athlete-profile/piers-gilliver |title=Piers Gilliver |accessdate=1 September 2016 |work=rio.paralympics.org.uk}} He joined the British Disabled Fencing Association in 2011. In 2012 Gilliver made his international debut for the British team at a World Cup event in Warsaw, coming 11th in the Category A épée.

In 2013 Gilliver took part in his first IWAS World Championships. The same year he was named Junior World Champion in the U23's Category A épée. In the buildup to the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio, Gilliver took nine podium finishes at international matches including the silver medal at the IWAS wheelchair fencing World Championships in Eger. In 2016 he was selected for TeamGB at the 2016 Summer Paralympics where he gained a silver medal in the Épée A.

In July 2021 Gilliver, Dimitri Coutya, Gemma Collis-McCann and Oliver Lam-Watson were identified as the British wheelchair fencing team who would compete at the delayed 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo,{{Cite news |title=Gilliver & Coutya named in GB team |language=en-GB |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/disability-sport/57634794 |access-date=2021-06-28}} where he won gold in the Épée A, silver in the Team Foil and bronze in the Team Épée.{{cite web |title=Wheelchair Fencing - Results Book |url=https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/paralympic-games/resPG2020-/pdf/PG2020-/WFE/PG2020-_WFE_B99_WFE-------------------------------.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902134336/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/paralympic-games/resPG2020-/pdf/PG2020-/WFE/PG2020-_WFE_B99_WFE-------------------------------.pdf |archive-date=2021-09-02 |website=Olympics.com |access-date=10 August 2022}}

Gilliver was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to fencing.{{London Gazette|issue=63571|supp=y|page=N19|date=1 January 2022}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/59828368 |title=New Year Honours 2022: Jason Kenny receives a knighthood and Laura Kenny made a dame |date=31 December 2021 |work=BBC Sport}}

He won a silver medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in the Sabre A event.{{cite web |title=Paralympics 2024: Piers Gilliver wins wheelchair fencing silver for Great Britain in men's Sabre A |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/cy0r481d071o |website=BBC Sport |access-date=3 September 2024 |date=3 September 2024}}