Fencing at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's foil

Last updated
Men's foil
at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad
2008 Fencing Hall of the National Convention Center 2.JPG
Fencing Hall at the Olympic Green Convention Centre
Venue Olympic Green Convention Centre
Date13 August 2008
Competitors26 from 21 nations
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Benjamin Kleibrink Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
Silver medal icon.svg Yuki Ota Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
Bronze medal icon.svg Salvatore Sanzo Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
  2004
2012  

The men's foil fencing competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing took place on August 13 at the Olympic Green Convention Centre. There were 26 competitors from 21 nations. [1] The event was won by Benjamin Kleibrink of Germany, the nation's first victory in the men's foil. Yuki Ota's silver was Japan's first medal in the event. Salvatore Sanzo of Italy took bronze, becoming the 10th man to win multiple medals in the event.

Contents

Background

This was the 25th appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1908 (when there was a foil display only rather than a medal event). Two of the eight quarterfinalists from 2004 returned: gold medalist Brice Guyart of France, silver medalist (and 2000 quarterfinalist) Salvatore Sanzo of Italy, bronze medalist Andrea Cassarà of Italy, sixth-place finisher Peter Joppich of Germany, and eighth-place finisher Richard Kruse of Great Britain. Sanzo had won the 2001 and 2005 World Championships; Joppich had won in 2003, 2006, and 2007. The runner-up in Joppich's latest two titles, Andrea Baldini of Italy, had tested positive for a banned diuretic and could not compete (though he was later cleared and competed in 2012). This made Joppich a heavy favorite. [1]

Qatar and Thailand each made their debut in the men's foil. France and the United States each made their 23rd appearance, tied for most of any nation; France had missed only the 1904 (with fencers not traveling to St. Louis) and the 1912 (boycotted due to a dispute over rules) foil competitions, while the United States had missed the inaugural 1896 competition and boycotted the 1980 Games altogether.

Qualification

Nations had been limited to three fencers each since 1928. However, the 2008 Games introduced a rotation of men's team fencing events with one weapon left off each Games; the individual event without a corresponding team event had the number of fencers per nation reduced to two. Men's foil was the first event this applied to, so each nation could enter a maximum of two fencers in the event in 2008.

There were 24 dedicated quota spots for men's foil. The first 8 men in the FIE Individual Ranking (applying the two-per-nation limit) received spots. Next, 8 more men were selected from the ranking based on continents: 3 from Europe, 2 from the Americas, 2 from Asia/Oceania, and 1 from Africa; each nation could only earn one spot from this continental ranking, but it could be added to a spot from the world ranking to bring the nation up to two total. Finally, eight spots were allocated by continental qualifying events with the same split as the ranking. Nations could only earn one spot from these events and only if they had no fencer qualified through rankings.

Additionally, there were 8 host/invitational spots that could be spread throughout the various fencing events. China used only 2 of those places to max out its representation in all events, so 6 spots were assigned by Tripartite Commission invitation. Two were used in the men's foil (for Khalid Al-Hamadi of Qatar and Richard Kruse of Great Britain).

Competition format

The foil competition consisted of a five-round single-elimination bracket with a bronze medal match between the two semifinal losers. Fencing was done to 15 touches or to the completion of three three-minute rounds if neither fencer reached 15 touches by then. At the end of time, the higher-scoring fencer was the winner; a tie resulted in an additional one-minute sudden-death time period. This sudden-death period was further modified by the selection of a draw-winner beforehand; if neither fencer scored a touch during the minute, the predetermined draw-winner won the bout. [1]

Schedule

All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8)

DateTimeRound
Wednesday, 13 August 2008Round of 32
Round of 16
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Bronze medal match
Final

Results

Section 1

Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals
1 Flag of Italy.svg  Andrea Cassarà  (ITA)15
17 Flag of Austria.svg  Roland Schlosser  (AUT)1517 Flag of Austria.svg  Roland Schlosser  (AUT)8
16 Flag of Spain.svg  Javier Menendez  (ESP)9 1 Flag of Italy.svg  Andrea Cassarà  (ITA)14
9 Flag of the United States.svg  Gerek Meinhardt  (USA)158 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Zhu Jun  (CHN)15
24 Flag of Egypt.svg  Mostafa Nagaty  (EGY)3 9 Flag of the United States.svg  Gerek Meinhardt  (USA)9
25 Flag of Argentina.svg  Alberto Viaggio  (ARG)2 8 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Zhu Jun  (CHN)15
8 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Zhu Jun  (CHN)158 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Zhu Jun  (CHN)4
5 Flag of Germany.svg  Benjamin Kleibrink  (GER)15
5 Flag of Germany.svg  Benjamin Kleibrink  (GER)15
21 Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Lau Kwok Kin  (HKG)6 12 Flag of Japan.svg  Kenta Chida  (JPN)10
12 Flag of Japan.svg  Kenta Chida  (JPN)155 Flag of Germany.svg  Benjamin Kleibrink  (GER)15
13 Flag of Poland.svg  Sławomir Mocek  (POL)154 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Lei Sheng  (CHN)7
20 Flag of Thailand.svg  Nontapat Panchan  (THA)7 13 Flag of Poland.svg  Sławomir Mocek  (POL)8
4 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Lei Sheng  (CHN)15

Section 2

Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals
3 Flag of France.svg  Erwann Le Péchoux  (FRA)15
19 Flag of Morocco.svg  Ali Xavier Lahoussine  (MAR)3 14 Flag of France.svg  Brice Guyart  (FRA)10
14 Flag of France.svg  Brice Guyart  (FRA)153 Flag of France.svg  Erwann Le Péchoux  (FRA)9
11 Flag of Israel.svg  Tomer Or  (ISR)10 6 Flag of Italy.svg  Salvatore Sanzo  (ITA)10
22 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Josh McGuire  (CAN)1122 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Josh McGuire  (CAN)3
6 Flag of Italy.svg  Salvatore Sanzo  (ITA)15
6 Flag of Italy.svg  Salvatore Sanzo  (ITA)14
7 Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  Choi Byung-chul  (KOR)1510 Flag of Japan.svg  Yuki Ota  (JPN)15
26 Flag of Qatar.svg  Khalid Al-Hamadi  (QAT)3 7 Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  Choi Byung-chul  (KOR)14
23 Flag of Brazil.svg  João Souza  (BRA)4 10 Flag of Japan.svg  Yuki Ota  (JPN)15
10 Flag of Japan.svg  Yuki Ota  (JPN)1510 Flag of Japan.svg  Yuki Ota  (JPN)15
15 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Richard Kruse  (GBR)152 Flag of Germany.svg  Peter Joppich  (GER)12
18 Flag of Romania.svg  Virgil Sălișcan  (ROU)6 15 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Richard Kruse  (GBR)9
2 Flag of Germany.svg  Peter Joppich  (GER)10

Finals

 
SemifinalsFinal
 
      
 
 
 
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Zhu Jun  (CHN) 4
 
 
 
Flag of Germany.svg  Benjamin Kleibrink  (GER)15
 
Flag of Germany.svg  Benjamin Kleibrink  (GER)15
 
 
 
Flag of Japan.svg  Yuki Ota  (JPN) 9
 
Flag of Italy.svg  Salvatore Sanzo  (ITA) 14
 
 
Flag of Japan.svg  Yuki Ota  (JPN)15
 
Bronze medal match
 
 
 
 
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Zhu Jun  (CHN) 14
 
 
Flag of Italy.svg  Salvatore Sanzo  (ITA)15

Final classification

RankFencerNation
Gold medal icon.svg Benjamin Kleibrink Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
Silver medal icon.svg Yuki Ota Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
Bronze medal icon.svg Salvatore Sanzo Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
4 Jun Zhu Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
5 Peter Joppich Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
6 Andrea Cassarà Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
7 Erwann Le Péchoux Flag of France.svg  France
8 Sheng Lei Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
9 Byung-chul Choi Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  South Korea
10 Gerek Meinhardt Flag of the United States.svg  United States
11 Kenta Chida Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
12 Sławomir Mocek Flag of Poland.svg  Poland
13 Brice Guyart Flag of France.svg  France
14 Richard Kruse Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
15 Roland Schlosser Flag of Austria.svg  Austria
16 Josh McGuire Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
17 Tomer Or Flag of Israel.svg  Israel
18 Javier Menéndez Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
19 Virgil Saliscan Flag of Romania.svg  Romania
20 Ali Xavier Lahoussine Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco
21 Nontapat Panchan Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand
22 Kwok Kin Lau Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Hong Kong
23 João Souza Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
24 Mostafa Nagaty Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt
25 Khalid Al-Hamadi Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar
26 Alberto Viaggio Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Foil, Individual, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 20 November 2020.