Ulrich Robeiri (born 26 October 1982) is a French right-handed

épée The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contain ...

fencer, two-time team European champion, six-time team world champion, 2014 individual world champion, and 2008 team

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

champion.

Career

Robeiri was born in Cayenne,

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...

. He began fencing at age 8 at the Éclaireuses et Éclaireurs de France, an interreligious scouting association. He first practiced

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 ...

, the traditional learning weapon, before turning to

. He first joined the centre for promising young athletes in Les Abymes, in Guadeloupe, then at the age of 15, the centre of Reims in metropolitan France. In 2001, he earned a bronze medal in the Junior European Championships in Keszthely. A year later, he was admitted into

INSEP INSEP, the National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance (Institut national du sport, de l'expertise et de la performance), is a French training institute and center for excellence in sports that trains elite athletes. It is located on th ...

, a state institution for high-performance athletes. That same year, he earned the gold medal both in the individual and team event of the Junior World Championships in Antalya. During his first season as a senior, he won the Lisbon Grand Prix and the Paris World Cup, and earned a bronze medal in the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in Havana. He finished the season No.4 in world rankings. After a dry spell in 2003–04, he won the Heidenheim Grand Prix and the Puerto Rico World Cup in 2005. The same year, he joined the French national épée team, which had won the Olympic gold at Athens. With

Érik Boisse Érik Boisse (born 13 March 1980, in Clichy) is a French épée fencer. He is the son of Philippe Boisse. Boisse won the gold medal in the épée team event at the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2006 World Fencing Championships after beating ...

Jérôme Jeannet Jérôme Jeannet (born 26 January 1977 in Fort-de-France, Martinique) is a French épée fencer. His brother, Fabrice Jeannet is a fencer also. Record against selected opponents Includes results from all competitions 2006–present and major ...

and

Fabrice Jeannet Fabrice Jeannet (born 20 October 1980 in Fort-de-France, Martinique) is a retired French épée fencer. Jeannet won the gold medal in the épée team event at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics and a silver medal in the individual épée in 200 ...

, Robeiri won the gold medal at the

. The team would come to be known as “the Invincibles”, as they dominated men's épée from 2004 to 2010 with eight consecutive world titles. In the 2013–14 season, Robeiri placed second in the Berne Grand Prix and made it to the quarter-finals in the European Championships in Strasbourg before being defeated by Hungary's

András Rédli András Rédli (born 21 October 1983) is a Hungarian right-handed épée fencer, 2010 team European champion, 2014 individual European champion, 2013 team world champion, and 2016 Olympic medalist. Career Rédli won the team gold medal in the ...

, who eventually won the competition. A month after, Robeiri made it to the semi-final where he defeated his old teammate

Gauthier Grumier Gauthier Grumier (born 29 May 1984, in Nevers) is a French left-handed épée fencer. Grumier is a three-time team European champion, 2015 individual European champion, and five-time team world champion. A two-time Olympian, Grumier is a 201 ...

. In the final, he prevailed over

Park Kyoung-doo Park Kyoung-doo ( or ; born 3 August 1984) is a South Korean right-handed épée fencer, four-time team Asian champion, 2016 individual Asian champion, and two-time Olympian. Park competed in the 2012 London Olympic Games The 2012 ...

of South Korea to win his first individual World title. Robeiri graduated from the Polytech'Paris-UPMC engineering school. He works as an engineer within the information and communications systems division of RATP Group, the public transport operator for Paris, with a special contract which allows him to train and to attend major competitions.

Medal Record

Olympic Games

World Championship

European Championship

Grand Prix

World Cup

References

External links

Profile
at the European Fencing Confederation {{DEFAULTSORT:Robeiri, Ulrich 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Cayenne French male épée fencers Fencers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic fencers of France Olympic gold medalists for France French people of French Guianan descent French Guianan fencers Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics European champions for France Olympic medalists in fencing