For Wheelchair Fencer Ellen Geddes, The Trick Is Never Hearing The Word ‘No’
Whether she’s “horrifically stubborn” or “tenacious,” Geddes’ mentality has helped her rise to the top of the sport.
Athlete Bio#
Height
5'10"
Age
36
Hometown
Aiken, SC
Education
Presbyterian College ’10, Religion and Psychology
classification: B
Personal
- Lists winning double top eights in Kyoto in 2018 as her favorite fencing memory
- A former competitive equestrian, Geddes broke her back in a car accident in 2011 and suffered a complete spinal cord injury at T10
- While rehabbing at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Geddes met National Team member Dennis Aspy who inspired her to join Para fencing
- Won her first medal on the World Cup circuit in Montreal in 2014
- Within a year, Geddes had qualified for her first Wheelchair World Championship Team and in 2014 she won her first medal on the World Cup circuit in Montreal
- Her uncle is a role model because he was paralyzed at 17 and uses a wheelchair
- Owns about 30 horses and runs a breeding program with her business partner
Paralympic Experience
- 2-time Paralympian;
- Paralympic Games Paris 2024, 6th (Team Foil - Women), 10th (Individual Epee B - Women, Individual Foil B - Women), 11th (Team Epee - Women)
- Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, 7th (Team Epee - Women), 8th (Team Foil - Women), 10th (Individual Foil B - Women), 11th (Individual Epee B - Women)
World Championships Experience
- Most recent: 2023 – 9th (Individual Foil B - Women), 10th (Team Foil - Women), 14th (Individual Epee B - Women)
- Years of participation: Individual Epee B - Women 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2023; Individual Foil B - Women 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2023; Team Foil - Women 2019, 2023; Team Epee - Women 2013, 2019
- Top finish: 9th – 2013 (Team Epee - Women), 2019 (Individual Epee B - Women), 2019 (Team Epee - Women), 2019 (Team Foil - Women), 2023 (Individual Foil B - Women)
