Ukraine’s Anton Datsko once said his motto is "life is a game," but nobody who has seen him on the piste would doubt that he takes competing very seriously.
Datsko, 30, began his wheelchair fencing career in 2003 after meeting fencing coach Andrey Kolesnikov. The Paralympic silver medallist, who is from Lviv in eastern Ukraine, has always had a competitive streak, playing table tennis and basketball before a fall from a tree resulted in a spinal-cord injury.
Kolesnikov, together with fellow coaching team members Svetlana Kolesnikova and Khrystyk Volodymyr helped harness Datsko's ability to start a wheelchair fencing career that has seen him progress on a steady upward trajectory ever since he made his debut for the Ukrainian national team in 2004.
In addition to his favoured foil discipline, Datsko also competes with the sabre, and to similarly devastating effect against his opponents.
At the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, Datsko finished in a respectable seventh place in foil and in 10th place in the sabre competition. This was to be the beginning of a rise in the sport that would see him confirm his place as one of the world's top wheelchair fencers in 2011, winning the category B sabre title at European Championships and both the foil and sabre titles at the World Championships.
Datsko capitalised on this progress further with a strong performance at the London 2012 Games, losing only in the final of the category B foil event to Hu Daoliang of China. According to Datsko, the simultaneous pride and pain at taking home a silver medal but missing out on the gold has provided him with motivation ever since.
And it seems to be working.
The Ukrainian has won every major foil competition he has subsequently entered, taking the category B title at the IWAS Wheelchair Fencing Grand Prix Events in Eger, Hungary in December 2012 and then at the equivalent events in Montreal, Canada and Lonato, Italy in the spring of 2013. This feat was incredibly also matched with the sabre, too, with wins in Eger and Lonato and a joint third-place finish in Montreal.
As a Christian, Datsko prays before each match and rather than hold big celebrations after victories he prefers simply to ensure he expresses gratitude to his coaches and supporters. If his performances remain at their current level one suspects he could well be giving thanks for great results at Rio 2016.
