Best wheelchair fencing quotes of the Games

Bebe Vio, Italy, gold medallist, foil category B

“I cried a lot right after winning. They told me I made everybody cry in this arena, but I cried like all of them together; it’s beautiful. I screamed everything that I had inside, my voice sucks right now because of that.

“I’ve dreamed of this gold for long time. Now I got it. Now it’s other people's turn. I want to tell them to go out and pick some sports, any kind, no matter if you are disabled or able-bodied. Start playing some sport because it’s very important.”

Maxime Valet, France, bronze medallist, foil category B

“It’s amazing. I feel like I woke up five minutes ago, everything goes very fast and very intense. Every bout from the pools in the morning were very hard. But now it feels amazing, it’s great.

“I want to enjoy, with the crowd, the people supporting me. It was great, the people here are just amazing, it’s really nice to share this medal with the Brazilian people.”

Andrei Demchuk, gold medallist, sabre category A

“It was my dream to win the medal, I was preparing for it for so long, and I didn’t believe until the last second that I would win.” Demchuk said. “Anton Datsko is my best friend, we’re from the same city, Lviv, and it was my dream to win two gold sabre medals.”

Fang Yao, China, bronze medallist, foil category B

“This is going to be my last Paralympic Games. This is the perfect ending for me. I’d like to thank Rio and Brazil for giving me this opportunity to achieve that, I want to thank all my opponents, they're all very good fencers.

“Fencing gave me honour, happiness, it changed my life. I’d love to continue but my age and my body – unfortunately I’m 45 years old now and I can’t go on. That’s why I am so happy to end my sporting life this way here in Rio.”

Robert Citerne, France, gold medallist, epee team

“I’m 55 years old now and I am at my eighth Games. But I feel very young in my head and I know I can go as far as I want.

“When I am on the fencing piste I feel like a young boy. I like to make the show and I like to transcend myself. I love the team event, because it is more powerful than the individual one which is very complicated because you're on your own. The team event is a different world. The crowd, the partners, the family are with us.

“When you’re alone, you’re all on your own, when you are with a team it’s a party. And sport is a party.”