Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre ; winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, singlestick, appeared in the 1904 Olympics but was dropped after that, and is not a part of modern fencing. Fencing was one of the first sports to be played in the Olympics. Based on the traditional skills of swordsmanship, the modern sport arose at the end of the 19th century, with the Italian school having modified the historical European martial art of classical fencing, and the French school later refining the Italian system. There are three forms of modern fencing, each of which uses a different kind of weapon and has different rules; thus the sport itself is divided into three competitive scenes: foil, épée, and sabre. Most competitive fencers choose to specialize in one weapon only.
A foil is one of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing, all of which are metal. It is flexible, rectangular in cross section, and weighs under a pound. As with the épée, points are only scored by contact with the tip, which, in electrically scored tournaments, is capped with a spring-loaded button to signal a touch. A foil fencer's uniform features the lamé, a jacket, a glove, so called knickers, long socks, shoes, an 'under-arm protector,' or more accurately, a 'Plastron', a mask. For women, young children and all who choose, a chest protector, and the foil. It is the most commonly used weapon in competition. There are four sizes for the weapon starting with 30 inches and leading up to 35; 0, 2, 3, 5.
Aldo Nadi was one of the greatest Italian fencers of all time.
Fencing at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place at the Fencing Hall at the Hellinikon Olympic Complex. Ten gold medals were awarded in individual and team events, further divided into three styles of fencing: épée, foil and sabre.
Vladimir Nazlymov - Sabre fencer and coach for USSR and later United States. Born in Makhachkala, Daghestan. A 1970 graduate of The Daghestan State Pedagogical Institute, Nazlymov earned a bachelor's and master's degree in physical education. He earned the title of Master of the Sport (Fencing) in 1968.
The Fédération Internationale d'Escrime, 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 157 national federations, each of which is recognized by its country's Olympic Committee as the sole representative of Olympic-style fencing in that country.
Fencing has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Women's foil made its Olympic debut in Paris, during the 1924 Olympic Games. There are three forms of Olympic fencing:
Edoardo Mangiarotti was an Italian fencer. He won a total of 39 Olympic titles and World championships, more than any other fencer in the history of the sport. His Olympic medals include one individual gold, five team golds, five silver, and two bronze medals from 1936 to 1960.
Nedo Nadi was one of the best Italian fencers of all time. He is the only fencer to win a gold medal in each of the three weapons at a single Olympic Games and won the most fencing gold medals ever at a single Games—five. Until Mark Spitz won seven swimming championships at the 1972 Summer Olympics, this was also the record number of gold medals won at a single Games by any competitor. Nadi won six Olympic gold medals in total.
Ramón Fonst Segundo was a Cuban fencer who competed in the early 20th century. He was one of the greatest world fencers, individual and by team; he was born and died in Havana.
Andrea Baldini is an Italian foil fencer, world champion in 2009 and team Olympic champion in 2012.
Sergey Aleksandrovich Sharikov, also known as Serguei/Sergei Charikov, was a left-handed Russian Olympic champion sabre fencer. In the Olympics he won two gold medals, a silver medal, and a bronze medal.
The World Fencing Championships is an annual competition in fencing organized by the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime or FIE,. The world championships are, after the Olympic Games, the most prominent international competition in the sport of fencing. Contestants may participate in foil, épée, and sabre events.
Matthias Behr is a German foil fencer. He won a gold medal and three silvers at three Olympic Games.
George Piller was an Olympic and world champion fencer from Hungary in the 1920s and 1930s who became an internationally respected world-class fencing master in Hungary and the United States in the 1950s.
The FIE Fencing World Cup is an international fencing competition held by the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime. In each weapon, three Grand Prix, five World Cup events and several satellite events are contested each season. The five top results as well as the Olympic Games or World Fencing Championships and zonal championships results are taken into account for each fencer's rankings. For teams, up to five World Cup events are held each year. The four top results as well as the Olympic Games or World Fencing Championships and zonal championships are taken into account for each country's rankings.
Stanislav Alekseyevich Pozdnyakov is a Russian fencer, who has won five Olympic medals in the sabre competitions. He also won the gold medal at the 2006 World Fencing Championships and the 2007 World Fencing Championships in the individual sabre as well as a bronze medal in the team sabre in 2006.
Fernand Alphonse Marie Frédéric de Montigny was a Belgian fencer and hockey player. He won two silver medals and two bronze in fencing and a bronze in hockey. He was also the architect of the 1920 Olympic Stadium.
The fencing competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 6 to 14 August at the Carioca Arena 3 inside the Barra Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca. Around 212 fencers competed in 10 events.
