Paul Ronald Friedberg (born December 14, 1959) is an American former
fencer.
Early and personal life
Friedberg was born in
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, and is Jewish. His brother is Olympic fencer
John Friedberg.
Fencing career
Fencing at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
for the
University of Pennsylvania Quakers, Friedberg was four-time All-
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...
, and a three-time
All-American.
He won the NCAA saber titles in 1979, 1980, and 1981.
As a senior in 1981, Friedberg received the Class of 1915 Award, given to a senior class athlete who most closely approaches the ideal University of Pennsylvania student-athlete. He graduated with degrees from the
, and later earned an
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
from Penn's
Wharton School of Business
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...
.
Friedberg won a gold medal at the
1981 Maccabiah Games
The 11th Maccabiah Games brought 3,450 athletes to Israel from 35 nations. The Opening Ceremony was held on July 7, 1981, before a crowd of 53,000 and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in Ramat Gan Stadium, with 3,500 Jewish athletes parading ...
. He competed at the
1983 Pan American Games
The 1983 Pan American Games were held in Caracas, Venezuela from August 14 to August 29, 1983. The games were the first major international competition to include relatively accurate steroid testing.Taylor, William N., ''Anabolic Steroids and the ...
, won silver medals in team saber at the
1987 Pan American Games
The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas c ...
and the
1991 Pan American Games
The 1991 Pan American Games were held in Havana, Cuba from August 2 to August 18, 1991. There were 4,519 athletes from 39 countries of the Pan American Sports Organization, PASO community, with events in 33 different sports. The main stadium was ...
, and won a gold medal in team saber at the
1995 Pan American Games
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...
.
He competed in the team
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 ...
event at the
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
in Seoul.
Friedberg was inducted into the Penn Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996.
Miscellaneous
Friedberg appeared on season 29 of ''
This Old House
''This Old House'' is an American home improvement media brand with television shows, a magazine, and a websiteThisOldHouse.com. The brand is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The television series airs on the American television networ ...
'', renovating his house in
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedberg, Paul
1959 births
Living people
Jewish male sabre fencers
Jewish American sportspeople
American male sabre fencers
Olympic fencers of the United States
Fencers at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Sportspeople from Baltimore
Sportspeople from Newton, Massachusetts
Maccabiah Games medalists in fencing
Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States
Competitors at the 1981 Maccabiah Games
Fencers at the 1983 Pan American Games
Fencers at the 1987 Pan American Games
Fencers at the 1991 Pan American Games
Fencers at the 1995 Pan American Games
Pan American Games medalists in fencing
Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States
Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States
University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni
21st-century American Jews
Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games