‘Keep grinding it out.’ SC woman competing in the Paralympics in wheelchair fencing

When the Paralympics open Aug 28, a South Carolina woman will be there, competing in wheelchair fencing.

Ellen Geddes, a 36-year-old Aiken native, once was a competitive equestrian, but a car accident in 2011 left her with a broken back, a complete spinal cord injury at T10. She was 22.

She got into fencing while rehabilitating at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta.

“The fencing team was practicing and their team captain at the time, Dennis Aspy, invited me to try and stab people, which was entertaining and was a good pitch for me,” Geddes told WIS-TV.

She qualified for a Wheelchair World Championship the next year and won a medal in 2014 on the World Cup circuit in Montreal.

She competed in the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, placing 7th in team epee, 8th in team foil, 10th in individual foil and 11th in individual epee.

She has won four bronze and two silver World Cup medals.

Geddes is a graduate of Presbyterian College with a degree in religion and psychology.

She owns Bridlewood Farm in Aiken and Maplewood Farm in Johnston. She and her business partner own about 30 horses and run a breeding program.

Her boyfriend, Will Chase, also fences in a chair and is a coaching prévôt, a French designation for a level of master coaching, her Olympics bio says. She also said her uncle is a role model because he was paralyzed at 17 and uses a wheelchair.

In a story on the Shepherd Center website she said, “Focus on the process instead of the outcome. And if you want to try a sport and be good at it, be prepared to fail and lose first. Keep grinding it out.”