The men's sabre was one of eight
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, ...
events on the
fencing at the 1976 Summer Olympics
At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, eight events in fencing were contested. Men competed in both individual and team events for each of the three weapon types (épée, foil and sabre). Women competed in foil events.
One of the gold medalist ...
programme. It was the eighteenth appearance of the event. The competition was held from July 21 to 22, 1976. 46 fencers from 18 nations competed.
Nations had been limited to three fencers each since 1928. The event was won by
Viktor Krovopuskov of the Soviet Union, the nation's second consecutive victory in the men's sabre. The Soviet Union's two gold medals in the event moved it out of a six-way tie into sole possession of second place all-time, after Hungary with 11. The Soviet team swept the men's sabre medals in 1976, with
Vladimir Nazlymov taking silver and
Viktor Sidyak bronze. It was the third sweep in the event (Hungary accomplished it in 1912 and 1952). Nazlymov and Sidyak were the eighth and ninth men to win multiple medals in the event. Excluding matches against each other, the three Soviets went 48–3 during the tournament.
[ For the first time since 1900, Hungary competed in the men's sabre but did not win a medal (did not compete in 1904 or 1920, medaled in 1908, 1912, and for eleven straight Games from 1924 to 1972).
]
Background
This was the 18th appearance of the event, which is the only fencing event to have been held at every Summer Olympics. All six of the finalists from 1972 returned: gold medalist Viktor Sidyak of the Soviet Union, silver medalist Péter Marót
Péter Marót (27 May 1945 – 7 June 2020) was a Hungarian fencer. He won a silver medal in the individual sabre and a bronze in the team event at the 1972 Summer Olympics. He also competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Events Januar ...
of Hungary, bronze medalist Vladimir Nazlymov of the Soviet Union, fourth-place finisher Michele Maffei
Michele Maffei (born 11 November 1946) is a retired Italian fencer. He won a gold and three silver medals in the team sabre
A sabre (French: sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated wi ...
of Italy, fifth-place finisher Régis Bonissent of France, and sixth-place finisher Tamás Kovács of Hungary. Nazlymov was the reigning (1975) world champion, Mario Aldo Montano
Mario Aldo Montano (born 1 May 1948) is an Italian fencer. He won a gold and two silver medals in the team sabre at three Olympic Games.
He is the son of fencer Aldo Montano who competed for Italy at the 1936 and 1948 Summer Olympics. His son ...
of Italy had won the two before him (1973 and 1974). Hungary was no longer the sabre power it once was, having been surpassed by the Soviet Union, though (along with Poland and Italy) continued to be among the perennial contenders.
Competition format
The 1976 tournament returned to a mix of pool and knockout rounds similar to that used in 1968, after the 1972 edition briefly used a pool-only format. The competition included three pool rounds, followed by a double-elimination knockout round, finishing with a final pool round. In each pool round, the fencers competed in a round-robin.
Bouts in the round-robin pools were to 5 touches; bouts in the double-elimination round were to 10 touches. Repechages were not used in the first three rounds, but were used to determine medalists if necessary in the final.
Schedule
All times are Eastern Daylight Time
The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small p ...
( UTC-4)
Results
Round 1
Round 1 Pool A
Round 1 Pool B
Round 1 Pool C
Round 1 Pool D
Round 1 Pool E
Round 1 Pool F
Round 1 Pool G
Round 1 Pool H
Round 1 Pool I
Round 2
Round 2 Pool A
Round 2 Pool B
Round 2 Pool C
Round 2 Pool D
Round 2 Pool E
Round 2 Pool F
Round 3
Round 3 Pool A
Round 3 Pool B
Round 3 Pool C
Round 3 Pool D
Double elimination rounds
Winners brackets
=Winners group 1
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=Winners group 2
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=Winners group 3
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=Winners group 4
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Losers brackets
=Losers group 1
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=Losers group 2
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Final round
Final classification
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fencing at the 1976 Summer Olympics - Men's sabre
Sabre men
Men's events at the 1976 Summer Olympics