Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson is known for his many talents that extend beyond music, including his seasoned fencing skills.
On Sunday (January 19th), the 66-year-old singer put his abilities to the test at the European Veterans Fencing Circuit competition, a prestigious tournament hosted in Fâches-Thumesnil, France, notching a respectable 13th-place finish out of 31 competitors.
In footage posted to an Iron Maiden fan account on Instagram, Dickinson can be seen preparing for the day’s bouts — the first being an opening round 10/4 victory over Denmark’s Jeiner Simon.
In the next round, Dickinson faced a staunch opponent in France’s Pascal Jolyot, a triple Olympic champion who won a gold medal in the team foil and a silver in the individual foil events at the 1980 Summer Olympics.
Dickinson met his match in Jolyot, falling 10/1 to finish 13th out of 31 in the Veterans category, but as the caption on the Instagram video mentions: not bad for someone who wasn’t able to train much in 2024 due to touring commitments.
Bruce looks to be making the most of his downtime before Maiden heads back out. The British metal legends have a big year ahead, kicking off the “Run for Your Lives Tour” this summer (get tickets here). The outing will see the band performing songs from its first nine albums — as good a time as ever to cue up “The Duellists” from Powerslave for a little onstage fencing action.
Below you can watch footage of Dickinson competing in the fencing tournament in France.