BLACKPOOL wheelchair fencer Justine Moore loved her first experience of the Paralympics, even if it didn’t last very long.
The 20-year-old was eliminated in the preliminary round of the individual foil event, but immediately turned her attention to her second medal bid today in the individual epee.
The student from central Blackpool won only one of her five matches, beating Judit Palfi of Hungary 5-4, though she ran Ukraine’s Iryna Lukianenko close only to be edged out by the same score.
Seeded 11th in the foil, Moore entered the competition full of confidence after winning silver in the National Championships last year and acquitting herself well at both the World and European Championships.
But Moore, who was first introduced to the sport three years ago at a junior camp at Stoke Mandeville, remained in high spirits ahead of today’s return to the ExCeL venue.
She said: “The epee is my best event, so hopefully my experience in the foil will help me second time round.
“It was a tough pool with China and Germany, who are the two favourites for the gold, and I scored two points against the Chinese fencer.”
Originally from Manchester, Moore had a red, white and blue facemask made especially for the Games.
She added: “I was so excited when I knew I was coming here to compete, and in the first match I was a bit shaky and nervous, but in the second I began to relax and I really enjoyed it. It was an amazing experience and I loved it.”
Moore, who damaged her spinal cord in a fall from a tree, completes her busy London schedule in the team event on Friday.
Her proud coaches included fellow Blackpool Paralympian David Heaton, who competes in the men’s team competition on Saturday.
Comments