Bruce Dickinson finishes 13th in a fencing tournament. The video

Bruce Dickinson he is known for having many passions, in addition to the primary one of music. Alongside performances with Iron Maiden over the years, he was for a time an airline pilot, flying passenger jets when not on tour and himself taking the controls of his band’s plane, Ed Force One. However, in 2023 he announced his retirement from flying commercial aircraft. “Like an old dog or an old horse, I have to stop flying now,” he said.

In addition to flying, Bruce Dickinson has another passion: fencing.

So as a swordsman the Iron Maiden frontman took part in a fencing tournament for veterans this weekend. On Sunday (January 19), the 66-year-old placed 13th out of 31 participants at the Circuit Européen 2025 in Fâches-Thumesnil, near Lille, France. Among his opponents was three-time Olympic medalist Pascal Jolyot, also 66, who he faced last.

Speaking exclusively to local newspaper La Voix du Nord, Dickinson joked about her final opponent: “He’s not bad!” He also said it was the first time he had returned to Lille where he had been for rehearsals for Iron Maiden’s world tour in 2000. “But now I’m here for a fencing competition, a foil competition for veterans, like me,” he said. said.

For the record, the competition was won by the German Hans Martin Raeker.

Dickinson began fencing at age 14 and, during Iron Maiden’s downtime following the 1984-85 World Slavery tour, trained with the UK Olympic team.

Speaking to The Times last year, the singer said he stopped training with Olympians because he felt stupid “fencing with 18-year-olds.” “Now I’ve moved from foil fencing, which is very fast, to épée, which is more tactical,” he said. “I found a fantastic club in France, full of incredible fencers who all kick my butt. This gives me something to aim for: I want to get to the point where only 75% of them kick my butt!” .

Dickinson will be touring Europe with Iron Maiden in 2025, on the first leg of their “Run For Your Lives” world tour. On July 13th they will perform at the Euganeo Stadium in Padua.

For the occasion, the group will play material from their first nine albums to celebrate their 50th anniversary.