'Always pressure' as defending champion - Gilliver

Piers Gilliver won his first individual Paralympic gold medal at the Tokyo Games

Great Britain wheelchair fencer Piers Gilliver said there is "always pressure" as defending champion as he aims to retain the gold medal he won in Tokyo at the Paris Paralympics.

Gilliver, who trains in Bath, won Epee A gold at the Games three years ago and also claimed silver in the Team Foil and bronze in Team Epee.

The 29-year-old begins his Paralympics campaign on Tuesday, 3 September in the Sabre A individual category - the first of the four events he is participating in.

"There's always that pressure going in as defending champion; there's only one place to go, which is down so it's hard not for that to play on your mind," Gilliver told BBC Radio Somerset.

"I've always kept my focus on making myself better each day and the result - whatever it is - will happen on the day. Having that focus really changes it from a pure outcome base to making myself the best I can."

Gilliver, from the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, also goes into the Games as a world and double European champion in the Epee A and Sabre A.

He is one of four Great Britain fencers in Paris, alongside Bath University training partner Dimitri Coutya, Oliver Lam-Watson and Gemma Collis.

The quartet competed in Tokyo and Gilliver said they were "really confident" of their medal prospects in the team events.

"We went into Tokyo as the underdogs, we'd never medalled in a team event and to come away with two medals was really unexpected," Gilliver said.

"We've consistently medalled in both events. We're in a different place now. I think it's going to be a big ask with teams like China but we can definitely do it."

After competing in front of no spectators in Tokyo because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Gilliver said the prospect of up to 2,400 people inside the Grand Palais during this year's Games added another element.

"It does add the extra buzz, I feel like it gives me energy," he added.

"It gives me an extra boost to be even faster and stronger hopefully."