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

University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science The University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science, more commonly known as Penn Engineering or SEAS, is an undergraduate and graduate school of the University of Pennsylvania. The School offers programs that emphasize hands- ...

, 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