The International Fencing Federation commonly known by the acronym FIE, is the international governing body of Olympic fencing. Today, its head office is at the Maison du Sport International in Lausanne, Switzerland. The FIE is composed of 155 national federations, each of which is recognized by its country's Olympic Committee as the sole representative of Olympic-style fencing in that country.
The United States Fencing Association (USFA) is the national governing body for the sport of fencing in the United States. The USFA was founded in 1891 as the Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) by a group of New York fencers seeking independence from the Amateur Athletic Union. The AFLA changed its name to the United States Fencing Association in 1981, and is also known as USA Fencing.
The most popular sport in Russia is soccer. According to Yandex search analysis results rating of the most popular sports among Russians: "Football topped the list of the most popular sports in Russia" with 5 to 10 million requests. Ice hockey came in second with handball, basketball, futsal, boxing, auto racing, volleyball, athletics, tennis, and chess rounding out the top ten rankings. Other popular sports include bandy, biathlon, figure skating, weightlifting, gymnastics, wrestling, martial arts, rugby union, and skiing.
Olha Hennadiivna Kharlan, also known as Olga Kharlan, is a Ukrainian sabre fencer. She is a four-time individual women’s world sabre champion, six-time Olympic medalist and the most decorated Ukrainian Olympian in history. She has been ranked #1 in the world in women's sabre for five seasons: 2012-2013, 2013-2014, 2017-2018, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021.
Valentyna Ksenofontivna Rastvorova was a Ukrainian who was a Soviet fencer who competed in the 1956, 1960, and 1964 Olympics in the individual foil and team foil events. She won an individual silver medal and team gold medal in 1960, and a team silver medal in 1964. She also won six gold and two silver medals at the world championships of 1956–67.
The European Fencing Confederation is an international body created in 1991, charged with the promotion and development of fencing in Europe. It organises the European Fencing Championships annually at several levels: cadets (U17), junior (U20), under 23, seniors and veterans.
Stanislav Alekseyevich Pozdnyakov is a Russian former fencer, five-time Olympian (1992–2008), and five-time Olympic medalist in individual and team sabre competitions who is currently serving as president of the Russian Olympic Committee. He is also a ten-time individual and team world champion, in 1994–2007. In 2022, he was removed from his position as European Fencing Confederation (EFC) president at an Extraordinary Congress following a unanimous vote of no confidence in Pozdnyakov, due to his conduct in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Ilgar Yasharovich Mammadov is a Soviet and Russian of Azerbaijani origin who serves as President of the Russian Fencing Federation, and a former fencer. He is a two-time Olympic and one time world champion in team foil.
Yelena Borisovna Grishina is a former Soviet fencer. She competed in the women's team foil events at the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics. In the 1989 World Fencing Championships and the 1990 World Fencing Championships she won silver medals in foil team competing for the Soviet Union, and in 1995 she won a bronze medal in the European Championships in foil.
Yevgeny Borisovich Grishin is a retired Russian water polo defender. He was part of the Soviet teams that won gold medals at the 1980 Olympics, 1982 World Championships, and 1983 and 1985 European championships, and placed third at the 1986 World Championships and 1988 Olympics. Grishin was coached by his father Boris, who is also a retired Olympic water polo defender. His mother Valentina and sister Yelena are Olympic fencers.
Olena Serhiivna Kryvytska is a Ukrainian fencer.
Boris Dmitriyevich Grishin is a Russian water polo player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1964 and the 1968 Summer Olympics. He was married to champion Olympic fencer Valentina Rastvorova. His daughter, Yelena Grishina, is also an Olympic fencer.
Authorised Neutral Athlete (ANA) and Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN) are a capacity under which athletes can compete at international sporting competitions without representing their nations, as is standard convention under the Olympic Charter. As of August 2022, only Russian and Belarusian athletes of some sports have competed or are competing within the ANA capacity.
Yuval Shalom Freilich is an Israeli left-handed épée fencer, ranked 9th in the world in 2023-24. In both 2014 and 2015 Freilich won the European Men's Épée Junior Championship. He won the individual épée gold medal at the 2019 European Fencing Championships, the épée team silver medal with Israel at the 2022 European Fencing Championships, and the gold medal at the 2024 Epee Grand Prix event in Qatar.
Sergey Olegovich Bida is a Russian left-handed épée fencer. He was ranked #1 in the world in 2019 and 2020. He is a three-time European épée team champion, and 2021 Olympic épée team silver medalist. He moved to the United States in June 2023, along with his wife, Olympic épée fencer Violetta Khrapina Bida. Bida is a member of USA Fencing.
Violetta Vladimirovna Khrapina Bida is a Russian Olympic épée fencer. She competed at the 2019 World Fencing Championships, winning a team épée silver medal. She also fenced in 2021 in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She moved to California in the United States in June 2023, along with her husband, Olympic épée fencer Sergey Bida.
Sofia Stanislavovna Pozdniakova is a Russian right-handed sabre fencer, 2018 individual world champion, 2019 team world champion, 2021 individual Olympic champion, and 2021 team Olympic champion. She is a Russian Armed Forces athlete, and her clubs are the Russian Central Sports Army Club and the Novosibirsk Regional Fencing Sports School of Olympic Reserve. In January 2024, she was included in the list of proxies of presidential candidate Vladimir Putin in the 2024 Russian presidential election.
Konstantin Lokhanov is a Russian sabre fencer living in San Diego, California, in the United States. Lokhanov was ranked # 1 in the world in cadet sabre in both 2014 and 2015. He was then a two-time World Junior Sabre Individual Champion, and ranked # 1 in the world for both those years. In 2021, he competed in sabre at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The following year, appalled by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he defected to the United States. He said: "I decided I could no longer live in a country that kills innocent Ukrainians." He is a now member of USA Fencing.
The Ukrainian Fencing Federation commonly known by the acronym NFFU, established in 1992, is the governing body of Ukrainian fencing. Through 2022, Ukrainian fencers won 230 medals combined in the Olympic Games, World championships, and European championships.
The fencing competitions at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris were run from 27 July to 4 August at the Grand Palais strip. A total of 212 fencers, with an equal distribution between men and women, competed across twelve medal events at the Games. For the second straight time, Paris 2024 witnessed both men and women fence against each other in the individual and team events held in all three weapons.
