Olga Szabó-Orbán ( Orbán, 9 October 1938 – 5 January 2022) was a Romanian

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ma ...

fencer, world champion in 1962, and team world champion in 1969. A five-time Olympian, she won an individual silver medal in 1956 and team bronze medals in 1968 and 1972.

Career

Orbán was born into a Hungarian minority in Transylvania. She took up fencing at the relatively late age of 14 after her teacher Ecaterina Bartoș led the whole class to the fencing hall, where her husband Tibor was a coach. Her talent became rapidly apparent and she was placed under the responsibility of coach Ludovic Ozoray at club Progresul Cluj. She won in 1954 her first national championship in the junior category, followed in 1955 by a title in the senior category. At the 1956 Olympics she earned a silver medal, the first Olympic medal in fencing for Romania. The gold medal went to Great Britain's

Gillian Sheen Gillian Mary Donaldson (née Sheen; 21 August 1928 – 5 July 2021) was a British fencer and Olympic champion in foil competition. She won a gold medal in the women's individual foil event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. She also com ...

, whom Orbán had beaten twice during the event. In 1961 Orbán won with

Maria Vicol Maria Vicol (née Taitiș, 17 October 1935 – 13 March 2015) was a Romanian foil fencer, Olympic bronze medalist in 1960 and an Olympic team bronze medalist in 1968. Career Vicol took up fencing at Progresul Bucharest, where she was trained ...

, Ana Pascu and Ecaterina Orb-Lazăr Romania's first medal at the

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 (fencing), foil, épée, and S ...

with a team bronze medal, followed in 1962 by an individual gold medal. After retiring from competitions Orbán became a fencing coach at her club

CSA Steaua CSA may refer to: Arts and media * Canadian Screen Awards, annual awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television * Commission on Superhuman Activities, a fictional American government agency in Marvel Comics * Crime Syndicate of Amer ...

. In 1990 she moved to Hungary with her husband, Olympic water polo player Alexandru Szabó, and later worked at the Budapest Honvéd sport club.Olga Orban

Romanian Olympic Committee The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee ( ro, Comitetul Olimpic și Sportiv Român, COSR) is responsible for Romania's participation in the Olympic Games. History The Romanian Olympic Committee ( ro, Comitetul Olimpic Român) was formed in 1 ...

Personal life and death

Olga Szabó-Orbán died in January 2022, at the age of 83.A murit prima medaliată olimpică şi prima campioană mondială a scrimei româneşti

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Szabo-Orban, Olga 1938 births 2022 deaths Romanian female fencers Romanian foil fencers Olympic fencers of Romania Fencers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Romania Olympic bronze medalists for Romania Sportspeople from Cluj-Napoca Romanian sportspeople of Hungarian descent Olympic medalists in fencing Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Universiade medalists in fencing Universiade silver medalists for Romania