Geddes went 2-4 in pools to advance to the direct elimination rounds.
(Tokyo, Japan) – On the final day of individual competition at the Tokyo Paralympic Games, first-time Paralympian Ellen Geddes (Johnston, S.C.) clinched a 10th-place finish in Category B women’s foil.
“It’s great for the first time here,” said Geddes, who is the first women’s Category B fencer to compete for the United States since 2008, of the result. “I would’ve much preferred to move up again and it just wasn’t an opportunity today, but I am glad that I made it into the top 16. A 10th-place finish certainly isn’t something to be that disappointed about.”
2020 Paralympic Games Live Results
After competing in the individual and team women’s epee events on Thursday and Friday, Geddes went 2-4 in pools on Saturday, besting three-time World Team member Anri Sakurai (JPN), 5-2, and 2019 World Team Champion Boglarka Mezo (HUN), 5-3, to advance to the direct elimination rounds.
“Overall, my fencing felt better,” said Geddes, a four-time World Team member. “In the pools, I felt more in control of my bouts and I felt like I belonged on the stage and that I could figure out what all my opponents were doing and make a plan.”
In the table of 16, Geddes faced Mezo in a rematch of their pool bout, but came up short, 15-6, taking 10th to go with her 11th-place finish in individual women’s epee.
“The DE, it wasn’t my day,” Geddes said. “I was really struggling to get my body to cooperate with me. I thought that I was doing one thing and then my point would not be where I thought it was, so I think that I was struggling a little bit with fatigue by the time I got to the DE. It’s been a tough three days, but that’s no excuse. You have what you have and that’s where it was, and it wasn’t enough today.”
Geddes, along with teammates Shelby Jensen (Salt Lake City, Utah / Valkyrie Fencing Club) and Terry Hayes (North Fort Myers, Fla. / Southwest Florida Fencing Academy) will compete Sunday in the women’s foil team event.