Rubén Dario Limardo Gascón (born August 3, 1985) is a

Venezuelan Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

left-handed épée fencer, five-time team Pan American champion, four-time individual Pan American champion, three-time

Olympian Olympian or Olympians may refer to: Religion * Twelve Olympians, the principal gods and goddesses in ancient Greek religion * Olympian spirits, spirits mentioned in books of ceremonial magic Fiction * ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'', fiction ...

, and 2012 individual Olympic champion. Limardo competed in the

2012 London Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, the

2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, and the

2020 Tokyo Olympic Games The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

. His younger brother, Francisco, also competes in fencing on the international level. In 2015 he was elected to the National Assembly for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.

Olympics

Born in Ciudad Bolívar, Limardo competed for his native country in the 2008 Olympics épée competition, placing 23rd. Limardo competed at the

2012 Summer Olympics in London The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

winning a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in the individual épée event at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre on 1 August, two days before his 27th birthday. He won the gold when he defeated Norway's

Bartosz Piasecki Bartosz Piasecki (; born 9 December 1986) is a Norwegian fencer. Early life Piasecki was born in Tczew in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland but moved to Norway with his family when he was two years old. His father, Mariusz Piasecki is a fencin ...

15–10 in the men's épée final, winning Venezuela's first ever fencing medal, and Latin America's first Olympic gold medal in épée in 108 years, after

Ramón Fonst Ramón Fonst Segundo (July 31, 1883 – September 9, 1959) was a Cuban Fencing, fencer who competed in the early 20th century. He was one of the greatest world fencers, individual and by team; he was born and died in Havana. Biogr ...

won the event in 1904. Limardo earned Venezuela's second gold medal in any Olympic Games with the first being at the

1968 Summer Olympic Games The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

when Francisco Rodríguez won gold as a boxer in the light flyweight division. He competed at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

in Rio de Janeiro in the individual épée and the team épée competition. In the individual event, he was defeated by

Ayman Mohamed Fayez Ayman Mohamed Fayez or Ayman Alaa Eldin Mohamed Fayez (born 3 March 1991 Giza, Egypt) is an Egyptian fencer who competed in the 2012 Olympics and 2016 Olympics in Men's Individual Épée. Fayez was African champion in 2009, 2012 and 2017, also w ...

of Egypt during the round of 32. He was the flagbearer for Venezuela during the opening ceremony.

Fencing background

Limardo began fencing at the age of seven, encouraged by an uncle who had discovered the sport in Hungary. He was originally a right-handed foil fencer before injury caused him to switch both hand and weapon. He was awarded the Venezuelan Order of the Liberator after winning his gold medal at the London Olympic Games. President

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...

also presented him with a gold replica of

Simon Bolivar Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

's sword encrusted with precious stones. His brother Jesús Limardo also competes in fencing competitions. He has been a member of Piast Gliwice fencing club and currently resides in Łódź, Poland.

Medal Record

Olympic Games

World Championship

Pan American Championship

Grand Prix

World Cup

References

External links

Rubén Limardo
at BBC Sport
Rubén Limardo
at NBC Olympics
Rubén Limardo
at FIE {{DEFAULTSORT:Limardo, Ruben 1985 births Living people People from Ciudad Bolívar Venezuelan épée fencers Venezuelan male épée fencers Olympic fencers of Venezuela Fencers at the 2007 Pan American Games Fencers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2011 Pan American Games Fencers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Venezuela Olympic medalists in fencing Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for Venezuela Pan American Games silver medalists for Venezuela Pan American Games medalists in fencing Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Venezuela Central American and Caribbean Games silver medalists for Venezuela Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for Venezuela Competitors at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games South American Games gold medalists for Venezuela South American Games medalists in fencing Competitors at the 2010 South American Games Fencers at the 2019 Pan American Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in fencing World Fencing Championships medalists Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Fencers at the 2020 Summer Olympics 21st-century Venezuelan people