The men's
épée
The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains ...
was one of seven
fencing
Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...
events on the
fencing at the 1956 Summer Olympics
At the 1956 Summer Olympics, seven fencing events were contested, six for men and one for women.
Medal summary Men's events
Women's events
Medal table
Participating nations
A total of 165 fencers (142 men and 23 women) from 23 nations comp ...
programme. It was the twelfth appearance of the event. The competition was held on 30 November 1956. 41 fencers from 18 nations competed.
Nations were limited to three fencers each. The event was won by
Carlo Pavesi of Italy, the nation's fifth consecutive victory in the men's épée (most among all nations, above France with three). In all five of those Games, Italy earned at least two medals in the event; this was the second sweep during that period for Italy (and fifth overall, with Cuba achieving that once and France twice).
Giuseppe Delfino
Giuseppe Delfino (22 November 1921 – 10 August 1999) was an Italian fencer and Olympic champion in épée competition.
Biography
He won a gold medal in the épée individual event at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. was the silver medalist while
Edoardo Mangiarotti
Edoardo Mangiarotti (; 7 April 1919 – 25 May 2012) 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 go ...
took bronze. It was Mangiarotti's third medal in the event, along with gold in 1952 and another bronze in 1948; he was the first man to win three medals in the individual épée.
Background
This was the 12th appearance of the event, which was not held at the first Games in 1896 (with only foil and sabre events held) but has been held at every Summer Olympics since 1900.
Five of the 10 finalists from the 1952 Games returned: gold medalist (and 1948 bronze medalist)
Edoardo Mangiarotti
Edoardo Mangiarotti (; 7 April 1919 – 25 May 2012) 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 go ...
of Italy, fifth-place finisher
József Sákovics
József Sákovics (26 July 1927 – 2 January 2009) was a Hungarian épée and foil fencer. He won a silver and two bronze medals at two Olympic Games. He was the husband of LÃdia Sákovicsné Dömölky, who also fenced at the Olympics.
...
of Hungary, sixth-place finisher
Carlo Pavesi of Italy, seventh-place finisher
Per Carleson
Senior Colonel Per Hjalmar Ludvig Carleson (11 July 1917 – 8 June 2004) was a Swedish officer and épée fencer. Carleson was one of the founders of the Swedish Coastal Rangers.
Early life
Carleson was born on 11 July 1917 in Stockholm ...
of Sweden, and eighth-place finisher
Carl Forssell
Carl Forssell (25 October 1917 – 28 November 2005) was a Swedish fencer. Competing in the team épée he won a bronze medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics, a silver at the 1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympiala ...
of Sweden. The reigning (1955) World Champion,
Giorgio Anglesio of Italy, was on the Italian team for the team event but did not compete in the individual event, with Mangiarotti (a two-time World Champion as well as two-time Olympic medalist), Pavesi, and
Giuseppe Delfino
Giuseppe Delfino (22 November 1921 – 10 August 1999) was an Italian fencer and Olympic champion in épée competition.
Biography
He won a gold medal in the épée individual event at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. making up the nation's heavily favored three-man squad for the individual competition.
[
Indonesia made its debut in the event. East and West Germany competed together as the United Team of Germany for the first time. Belgium and the United States each appeared for the 11th time, tied for most among nations.
]
Competition format
The competition used a pool play format, with each fencer facing the other fencers in the pool in a round robin. For the first time, bouts were to 5 touches. Barrages were used to break ties necessary for advancement (touches against were the first tie-breaker used to give ranks when the rank did not matter). However, only as much fencing was done as was necessary to determine advancement, so some bouts never occurred if the fencers advancing from the pool could be determined.[Official Report, p. 444.] The smaller field resulted in fewer pools and smaller pools (the final was only 8 fencers for the first time since 1912, after decades at 10 or 12 fencers).
Fencers from the four nations that reached the team event final received byes to the quarterfinals.
* Round 1: 4 pools of 7 or 8 fencers each. The top 4 fencers in each pool advanced to the quarterfinals.
* Quarterfinals: 4 pools of 7 fencers each. The top 4 fencers in each pool advanced to the semifinals.
* Semifinals: 2 pools of 8 fencers each. The top 4 fencers in each pool advanced to the final.
* Final: 1 pool of 8 fencers.
Schedule
All times are Australian Eastern Standard Time
Australia uses three main time zones: Australian Western Standard Time (AWST; UTC+08:00), Australian Central Standard Time (ACST; UTC+09:30), and Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST; UTC+10:00). Time is regulated by the individual state ...
(UTC+10
UTC+10:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +10:00. This time is used in:
As standard time (year-round)
''Principal cities: Brisbane, Gold Coast, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Port Moresby, Dededo, Saipan''
North Asia
*Russia – Vl ...
)
Results
Round 1
The top 4 fencers in each pool advanced to the quarterfinals. Fencers from the four teams that advanced to the final of the men's team épée event received byes through round 1:
* France: Daniel Dagallier, Armand Mouyal, and René Queyroux
* Great Britain: Bill Hoskyns
Henry William Furse "Bill" Hoskyns MBE (19 March 1931 – 4 August 2013) was a British fencer who appeared at six Olympic Games.,
Fencing career
Hoskyns, born in London won two silver medals in 1960 and 1964 Olympic Games. No British fence ...
, Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posi ...
, and Allan Jay
Allan Louis Neville Jay MBE (born 30 June 1931) is a British former five-time-Olympian foil and épée fencer, and world champion.
Early life
Jay was born in London, England, and is Jewish. His father died fighting in World War II in 1943. He a ...
* Hungary: Lajos Balthazár, Béla Rerrich
Béla Rerrich (26 November 1917 – 24 June 2005) was a Hungarian fencer. He won a silver medal in the team épée event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.
During the Melbourne Olympics the Hungarian revolution happened, and Rerri ...
, and József Sákovics
József Sákovics (26 July 1927 – 2 January 2009) was a Hungarian épée and foil fencer. He won a silver and two bronze medals at two Olympic Games. He was the husband of LÃdia Sákovicsné Dömölky, who also fenced at the Olympics.
...
* Italy: Giuseppe Delfino
Giuseppe Delfino (22 November 1921 – 10 August 1999) was an Italian fencer and Olympic champion in épée competition.
Biography
He won a gold medal in the épée individual event at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. , Edoardo Mangiarotti
Edoardo Mangiarotti (; 7 April 1919 – 25 May 2012) 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 go ...
, and Carlo Pavesi
Pool 1
Pool 2
Pool 3
Pool 4
Quarterfinals
The top 4 fencers in each pool advanced to the semifinals.
Quarterfinal 1
Quarterfinal 2
Quarterfinal 3
Quarterfinal 4
Semifinals
The top 4 fencers in each pool advanced to the final.
Semifinal 1
Semifinal 2
Final
The three-way tie among the Italian fencers for the medals at 5–2 required a barrage to settle. The first barrage resulted in another three-way tie at 1–1 (Pavesi defeated Delfino; Delfino defeated Mangiarotti; Mangiarotti defeated Pavesi). In the second barrage, the results were the same except Pavesi defeated Mangiarotti to win the gold medal. Delfino took silver and Mangiarotti bronze. In all, Mangiarotti had faced Delfino 4 times (Mangiarotti winning in the semifinal pool, Delfino winning three times: the final pool and both barrages), Delfino had faced Pavesi 3 times (Pavesi winning all 3 in the final pool and both barrages), and Pavesi had faced Mangiarotti 3 times (Mangiarotti winning in the final pool and first barrage, Pavesi winning in the second barrage).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fencing at the 1956 Summer Olympics - Men's epee
Epee men
Men's events at the 1956 Summer Olympics