The men's masters foil was one of three
fencing
Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...
events on the
Fencing at the 1896 Summer Olympics
At the 1896 Summer Olympics, three fencing (sport), fencing events were contested at the Zappeion. They were prepared and organized by the Sub-Committee for Fencing. The épée event for men was cancelled. All fencing was done to three touches ...
programme. It was the only event at the Games for professional athletes and was held immediately after the amateur event on 7 April. It consisted of a single match, between
Leonidas Pyrgos
Leonidas "Leon" Pyrgos (, born 1874 in Mantineia, Arcadia; date of death unknown) was a Greek fencer.
Career
Pyrgos was the first Greek Olympic medallist in the history of the modern Olympic Games, winning his fencing event of the 1896 Summe ...
of
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
and
Joanni Perronet
Joanni Maurice Perronet (19 October 1877 – 1 April 1950) was a French painter and fencer.
He was son of music composer Joanni Perronnet and Blanche Guérard, as well as grandson of the playwright and lyricist Amélie Perronnet.
He was a fen ...
of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. Pyrgos won the match, 3–1, to become the first Greek champion in the modern Olympics.
Background
This was the first appearance of the event, which was held only once more. Fencing masters were an exception to the amateurs-only nature of the early Olympics. Masters fencing was held as an Olympic event in 1896 (men's foil only) and 1900 (all three weapons for men, as well as a special event in épée that pitted the top professionals against the top amateurs). By 1904, only amateur events were conducted.
Competition format
With only two fencers, the competition consisted of a single bout. The bout was to three touches. Standard
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 ma ...
rules were used, including that touches had to be made with the tip of the foil, the target area was limited to the torso, and
priority determined the winner of double touches.
[Official Report, p. 67.]
Schedule
The exact time of the master's event is not known. The fencing began at 10 a.m. on the second day of events with the (amateur) men's foil, followed by the master's foil. The Official Report notes that the fencing ended at noon.[
]
Results
Pyrgos won the only bout, 3–1.
References
* (Digitally available a
* (Excerpt available a
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fencing at the 1896 Summer Olympics - Men's masters foil
Fencing at the 1896 Summer Olympics, Men's masters foil