Meet the man who turned 'cool' sword-fighting into Gold medals

Dimitri Coutya seems to collect medals like some people collect stamps. The elite fencer has eight Paralympic medals (two Gold, two Silver, four Bronze), 8 World Championship medals (3 Gold, 3 Silver, 2 Bronze) and 13 European Championship medals ( 8 Gold, 3 Silver, 2 Bronze).

This summer, he fulfilled his dream of Paralympic Gold not once but twice at the Paris Games. But Dimitri isn't resting on his laurels: he hopes to defend his titles at the 2028 games at Los Angeles too. He is only 27 years old.

Dimitri discovered fencing when he was 12: "To be honest I was quite nerdy, I just thought sword-fighting was really cool! And then the first thing they tell you is it's not at all like the sword-fighting you see in films.

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"Once you get over that small disappointment, you realise how much physicality, tactics and psychology goes into it. Psychology is in my opinion the most important factor- not just in fencing, but in elite sport."

Having the right mindset is a big part of how Dimitri got to where he is today. One question he often asks himself is 'how do I change my mindset at any given moment to do what I need to do?'.

Even when he's not training, he still has to practice great self-discipline. Downtime, he explained, is just as important as training time. Any decision he makes could impact his prowess as an athlete: "Guilty is a strong word, but you do feel that sense of responsibility. You're trying to the best at this thing and you're not just representing yourself.

"You're representing Great Britain, you're representing your teammates, and you're essentially representing all your friends and family who have supported you on the way. They've sacrificed a lot too and you want to bring back something to show for it.

"Because they're wonderful people, my friends and family would be proud irrespective of what happened. But for me, I want to do as well as I can do. So [any decision I make] does weigh heavy on my mind - but that's where you have to be if you want to be the best that you can be at something."

The star fencer seems all too aware that it's a long way down from the top of the podium: "Staying at the top is in some ways more difficult than achieving the Gold medal at the Paralympics. You have to constantly be bettering yourself and looking for small improvements and dealing with other people who are also trying to do the same. It's hugely competitive."

Between now and Los Angeles, Dimitri is training full time at the University of Bath. He speaks warmly of his teammates, all of whom are friends. When he's not fencing, he enjoys film, food, and catching up with friends over a coffee.

But wherever he goes and whatever he does, I had the feeling Dimitri is always thinking of how to chase that medal in Los Angeles.