Fencing

History

In ancient times, due to constant war and battles, handling a sword was rather critical. But weapons also held other practical uses. For example, in Ancient Egypt, competitions using objects that looked like spears were held to celebrate triumph in war. Naturally, swords evolved throughout the years, becoming lighter and easier to handle. However, the invention of powder reduced the use of blades in battles. Thus, it was up to the sporting side of things to keep the tradition alive.

The first recognised fencers were Frenchmen Daner, Lafaugére and Juan Luis. They were among the masters who took part in the meeting that started to define the fencing technique. Thus, the rules that established that touching the opponent was more important than where the blow was struck began to be drafted.

The International Fencing Federation was only founded in 1913. The first World Championship was held in 1921, in Paris. However, fencing's Olympic history began earlier. The sport was part of the Olympic programme in Athens 1896. Since then, fencing has always been part of the Olympic programme at every edition of the Games.

Curiosities

Lefty by influence

One of the biggest fencers in the history of the Olympics was Italian athlete Edoardo Mangiarotti, who won six gold medals, five silver and two bronze between the Berlin (1936) and Rome (1960) Games. Only Aladar Gerevich from Hungary - another legend of the sport – won more, with seven gold.

Edoardo won his medals using his left hand. In fact, he started using his left hand because of his father, Giuseppe Mangiarotti, who was also his sword master. Following a family tradition, Giuseppe used to teach the sport to his kids as soon as they turned eight. In the case of Edoardo, his father made an extra effort: he taught the boy to hold the sword with his left hand, to surprise his opponents. The result was almost immediate. At the age of 11, Edoardo was already the Italian junior champion. Giuseppe’s boldness was crowned with the 13 Olympic medals won by Edoardo.

From gold to politics

Frenchman Jean François Lamour used to be made fun of by his friends. He was the only fencer of the 1980 French team to never have finished on the podium at the Olympics. Four years later, he won the gold medal at the Los Angeles Games (1984) in the individual sabre event. However, the Soviet boycott to that edition of the Games made Jean François’ win seem less important.

He was there again in Seoul 1988. This time, the competition brought together the world's elite fencers. The Frenchman arrived at the Games as a favourite after having won the world championship in 1987, which had stopped all the jokes related to his talent. After retiring from fencing, Jean François Lamour ended up going into politics. He was actually quite successful and recently held the office of French Minister for Youth and Sports.