Aladár Gerevich (16 March 1910 – 14 May 1991) was a Hungarian fencer, regarded as "the greatest Olympic swordsman ever". He won seven gold medals in

sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

at six different

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Biography

Gerevich is only one of two athletes to win the same event six times (despite two Games cancelled because of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

). He won gold medals in 1932 and 1960, an unprecedented 28 years apart. This record for the most years between first and last Olympic medals was tied by equestrian Mark Todd of New Zealand in 2012. Gerevich's wife,

Erna Bogen Erna may refer to: * Erna (mythology), figure from Norse mythology * Érna, or Iverni, a people of medieval Ireland * ''Erna'' (moth), genus of moths in the family Erebidae * Erna (planet), fictional world in C. S. Friedman's Coldfire Trilogy * ...

(also known as Erna Bogathy), his son,

Pál Gerevich Pál Gerevich (born 10 August 1948) is a Hungarian fencer, who won two Olympic bronze medals in the team sabre competitions. Pál Gerevich won the world championships in sabre fencing in 1977 and is currently coaching the Viennese fencing club ...

, and his father-in-law,

Albert Bogen Albert Bogen (born Albert Bógathy; October 31, 1882 – July 14, 1961) was a fencer who competed for Austria-Hungary at the 1912 Summer Olympics and for Hungary at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Bogen was Jewish, and was born in Kikinda, Se ...

(a silver medalist in team sabre for Austria at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

), all won Olympic medals in fencing. In the Hungarian Olympic trials for the 1960 Rome Olympics, the fencing committee told Gerevich that he was too old to compete. He silenced them by challenging the entire sabre team to individual matches and winning every match. He missed the finals of the 1960 Olympic individual sabre event, and a possible individual gold medal, by a single touch. After retiring, he coached fencing at the Vasas Sports Club in Budapest, where he died aged 81. Asteroid 228893 Gerevich, discovered by

Krisztián Sárneczky Krisztián Sárneczky (born 6 November 1974 in Budapest) is a Hungarian people, Hungarian teacher of geography and prolific discoverer of minor planets and supernovae, researching at Konkoly Observatory in Budapest, Hungary. He is a board member o ...

and Brigitta Sipőcz at

Piszkéstető Station The Piszkéstető Station or Piszkéstető Mountain Station is an astronomical observatory in Mátraszentimre in Mátra Mountains, about northeast of Hungary's capital Budapest. It is a station of Konkoly Observatory, first built in 1958. It ...

in 2003, was named in his memory. The official was published by the

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Function ...

on 16 January 2014 ().

References

External links

www.olimpic.org: Aladár Gerevich
with photos {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerevich, Aladar 1910 births 1991 deaths People from Jászberény Hungarian male sabre fencers Fencers at the 1932 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic fencers of Hungary Olympic gold medalists for Hungary Olympic silver medalists for Hungary Olympic bronze medalists for Hungary Olympic medalists in fencing Recipients of the Olympic Order Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Burials at Farkasréti Cemetery Hungarian male foil fencers Sportspeople from Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County

Biography

See also

References

External links