Dmitry Rigin

Career

After trying chess and several sports, Rigin started fencing in 1993, at the age of eight, at the Spartak Sports Club under coaches Sergey Andrievsky and his wife Laura. After beginning training in 2007 with the Russian national team, he earned a bronze medal in the 2008 European U23 Championships in Monza.

Amongst senior he made his breakthrough in the 2010–11 season: he reached the quarter-finals in the Paris and St Petersburg World Cups and he won the Löwe von Bonn, defeating four-time World champion Peter Joppich in the semifinals and Olympic silver medallist Choi Byung-chul in the final. He was called into the national team for the European Championships in Sheffield. Russia saw off Israel, but were stopped by France in the semifinal. They overcame Germany in the match for the bronze medal, bringing Rigin his first European distinction. At Catania 2011, his first World Championships, he was defeated in the second round by USA's Gerek Meinhardt. These results pushed him to a world No.17 ranking at the end of the season and he was named “breakthrough of the year” by the Russian Fencing Federation.

Rigin failed however to qualify to the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons proved disappointing. He returned to form in the 2013–14 season, reaching the quarter-finals in the La Coruña and St Petersburg World Cups. He won his second World Cup event in Havana. Drafted back into the Russian national team for the 2014 European Championships, he helped them cruise past the Czech Republic. Russia were largely defeated by France in the semifinals, but overcame Poland to earn Rigin his second European bronze. He finished the season No.9 in world rakings, a career best so far.

Rigin began the 2014–15 season by a silver medal at the Prince Takamodo World Cup in Tokyo, after a defeat in the final to USA's Race Imboden. In March 2015 he won the Havana Grand Prix after prevailing over USA's Alexander Massialas.