The 1969

World Fencing Championships The World Fencing Championships is an annual competition in fencing organized by the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE; ''International Fencing Federation'' in English). Contestants may participate in foil, épée, and sabre events. Hi ...

were held in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. The event took place from September 30 to October 12, 1969, at the Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum.

Overview

The Havana World championships were the third straight major fencing event held in the Americas after the 1967 edition in Montreal and the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

in Mexico. Cuba gave the competition political overtones, including it in the celebrations for the ten years of the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in cou ...

. Fencing was also stopped on 8 October for a commemoration of the anniversary of

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...

's death. The United States, who do not have formal diplomatic relations with Cuba, sent a restricted delegation of 25 fencers. The competition was also marred by numerous failures of the electrical apparatus to the heat and humidity. On sportive terms, the championships were dominated by countries of the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

, especially the Soviet Union, who claimed all three men's team titles. Romania earned their first women's world title.

Results

Men

Women

Medal table

References

Sources

FIE Results
* {{World Fencing Championships World Fencing Championships F

20th century in Havana Sports competitions in Havana

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...