Romain Noble in action at the London 2012 Paralympic Games
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Romain Noble of France fences during his men's epee catergory A quarter-final match against Yanfei Duan of China at London 2012
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The French have long had a great record in wheelchair fencing, and with Romain Noble, the nation's future in the sport fencing looks bright too.
Noble, 33, is equally adept with both the epee and the sabre, competing with great success in both disciplines. Fiercely competitive, he has previously confessed he his only ever truly happy with taking the top prize. It is this drive to succeed that has seen him become one of the world's top wheelchair fencers.
Noble has spina bifida, which affects the movement in his leg and foot. However, when he competes, these restrictions in mobility seem to be compensated for with brilliant agility.
The fencer from Bordeaux cemented his reputation as one of the top performers in the sport in 2011, winning the top prize in both disciplines at the IWAS European Championships. At the IWAS World Championships, he added a silver medal in the epee competition and a bronze with the sabre.
These successes prepared Noble for his first Paralympic Games at London 2012. There, he won a silver medal, losing 15-9 in a hard-fought match against long-term rival Dariusz Pender of Poland. He was less successful in the sabre competition, being knocked out early by fellow Frenchman, Moez El Assine.
Though these defeats were clearly hard to take, Noble returned to his winning ways in April 2013 at the IWAS Wheelchair Fencing World Cup in Montreal, Canada.
Part of a strong French squad that dominated at the event, Noble won gold in both the epee and sabre disciplines. This was followed with another podium place at the next IWAS World Cup event in Lonato, Italy, where Noble shared third place in the category A sabre competition with compatriot Ludovic Lemoine.
If Noble continues to maintain his strong form and competitive drive, then there's a very good chance we'll be hearing La Marseillaise played in his honour at Rio 2016.
