George Vitéz Worth (born György Woittitz; April 1, 1915 – January 15, 2006) was a Hungarian-born American

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 ...

Olympic medalist fencer.

Early and personal life

Worth was born György Woittitz in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, Hungary, and was Jewish. Because of the political climate in Hungary in 1937, Worth sought to emigrate to the United States, but he was unable to do so directly because he was Jewish and spent two years in Cuba."Worth, George V." – US Fencing Hall of Fame
/ref>
/ref> Worth finally came to the United States, and changed his name to George Worth, and at the age of 22 he was living in Manhattan in New York City. He became a US citizen. Worth served for the US in World War II, and fought in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

in 1944 and 1945, winning several

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

s. He later served as Captain of the South Orangetown, New York Ambulance Corps and Chief Commissioner of the

Orangeburg, New York Orangeburg is a hamlet and census-designated place, in the town of Orangetown, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Tappan, south of Blauvelt, east of Pearl River and west of Piermont. The population was 4,568 at the ...

Fire Department.

Fencing career

Worth began fencing while he was a youth in Hungary, at Salle Santelli, the salle d’armes of

Italo Santelli Italo Santelli (15 August 1866 – 8 February 1945) was an Italian fencing, fencer who is considered to be the "father of modern sabre (fencing), sabre fencing". Biography Italo Santelli was born in Carrodano (La Spezia), Italy in 1866. He st ...

, a sabre coach and the father of

Giorgio Santelli ''Maestro'' Giorgio Santelli (25 November 1897 – 8 October 1985) was a fencer and fencing master who was part of the Italian team that won the gold medal in Men's team sabre at the 1920 Summer Olympics and was the largest mid-20th century ...

, who became a five-time US Olympic coach. During his two years in Cuba, Worth won the Cuban national sabre championship and fenced often with Ramon Fonst, who had won the Olympic championship in both 1900 and 1904.

US Championship

Worth won the US AFLA national sabre championship in 1954, and was a 5-time medalist.Fairfield Fencing
/ref>''Collier's ... Year Book Covering the Year ...''
(P.F. Collier & Son., 1952) He was a member of 14 national championship teams, representing Salle Santelli his entire career.

Olympics

Worth competed at four

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 ...

for the US Olympic team—in 1948, 1952, 1956, and 1960. He won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

in London at 33 years of age in the team saber competition, and he reached the finals and placed fifth in the individual saber event. At the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

in Helsinki at 37 years of age, he reached the quarterfinals in the solo event and advanced to the final in the team saber event, where they finished in fourth place. At the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

in Melbourne at 41 years of age, he reached the semifinals in the sabre event. In the team event they had a bye into the semifinals, where they were defeated. His final Olympics was the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

in Rome at 45 years of age, where he and his team placed fourth in the sabre competition.

Pan American Games

Worth was also a member of three Pan-American teams on behalf of the US. He won the individual silver medal in sabre and the team gold medal in sabre and foil at the

1951 Pan American Games The 1951 Pan American Games (the I Pan American Games) were held in Buenos Aires, Argentina between February 25 and March 9, 1951. The Pan American Games' origins were at the Games of the X Olympiad in Los Angeles, United States, where official ...

in Argentina. He repeated those results at the 1955 Pan American Games in Mexico. At the

1959 Pan American Games The 1959 Pan American Games were held in Chicago, Illinois, United States between August 28 and September 7, 1959. Host city selection One city initially submitted a bid to host the 1959 Pan American Games that was recognized by the Pan Ame ...

in Chicago, he again won a team gold, and came in fifth in the individual competition. He took the Pan American Games Oath of Participation on behalf of all athletes of the United States during the

opening ceremonies An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

of the 1959 Games. After his fencing career concluded, he was a leading official in the sport.

Hall of Fame

He was inducted into the

USFA Hall of Fame The United States Fencing Association (USFA) is the national governing body for the sport of fencing in the United States. The USFA was founded on April 22, 1891, as the Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) by a group of 20 New York City fenc ...

in 1974.

References

External links

Olympic recordJews in Sports bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worth, George 1915 births 2006 deaths Jewish male sabre fencers Fencers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1960 Summer Olympics American male sabre fencers Jewish American sportspeople Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in fencing Martial artists from Budapest Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in fencing Hungarian male sabre fencers Hungarian male foil fencers Jewish Hungarian sportspeople Fencers at the 1951 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1951 Pan American Games 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews American male foil fencers Jewish male foil fencers Hungarian emigrants to the United States