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Fencing - Summer Olympic Sport
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Fencing


Swordplay has been practised for thousands of years, and modern day fencing began as a form of military training. It did not become a sport until around the 15th century.

Sword fighting and duels

Swordplay has been practised for thousands of years, as evidenced by carvings depicting fencers found in a temple near Luxor dating from around 1190 BC. From the 16th to the 18th century, duels were common, with combatants using a variety of weapons including quarterstaffs and backswords. Such bouts were bloody and occasionally fatal.

Birth of the sport

Fencing began the move from a form of military training to a sport in either the 14th or 15th century. Both Italy and Germany lay claim to its origins, with German fencing masters organising the first guilds in the 15th century, the most notable being the Marxbruder of Frankfurt, formed in 1478.

Rules of the game

Three innovations in the 17th and 18th century led to the popularity of fencing as a sport: the “foil” – a weapon with a flattened tip; a set of rules governing the target area; and the wire-mesh mask. Together, these developments ensured the safety of fencing’s participants.

Olympic history

Fencing was included for the first time at the 1896 Games in Athens, and has remained on the Olympic programme since then. The women’s fencing competition entered the Games in 1924 in Paris. Today, men and women compete in individual and team events, in which three types of weapon are used: foil, epee and sabre. The foil was, at first, the only weapon used by women, until the 1996 Games in Atlanta, when women’s epee was introduced. Women’s sabre appeared for the first time on the Olympic programme in Athens in 2004.

Among the figures who have marked this sport, Italy’s Nedo Nadi is the only fencer to have won a medal in every weapon in a single edition of the Games. In 1912, at the age of 18, he won in the foil. Then, after being decorated by his country for acts of bravery during the First World War, he won five gold medals in Antwerp in 1920, a historic and unequalled record: in the individual foil and sabre events, and in the team foil, epee and sabre events.

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Gallery

Fencing - Women’s Épée Individual
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Fencing - Women’s Épée Individual

From left to right, Kaylin Sin Yan Hsieh of Hong Kong (silver), Kateryna Chorniy of Ukraine (gold) and Veronika Bieleszova of Czech Republic (bronze) celebrate on the podium after the Fencing - Women’s Épée Individual on Day 2 of the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games at the Africa Pavilion, Youth Olympic Park on October 8, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
IOC/OIS
Fencing - Men’s Épée Individual
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Fencing - Men’s Épée Individual

Paul Veltrup of Germany and Davide Di Veroli of Italia in action during the Fencing - Men’s Épée Individual on Day 2 of the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games at the Africa Pavilion, Youth Olympic Park on October 8, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
IOC/OIS
Fencing - Men’s Épée Individual
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Fencing - Men’s Épée Individual

Davide Di Veroli of Italia celebrates his victory during the Fencing - Men’s Épée Individual on Day 2 of the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games at the Africa Pavilion, Youth Olympic Park on October 8, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
IOC/OIS
Fencing - Women's Foil Individual
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Fencing - Women's Foil Individual

Yuka Ueno of Japan celebrates winning the Women's Foil Individual on Day 1 of the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games at Africa Pavilion on October 7, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
IOC/OIS
Fencing - Women's Foil Individual
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Fencing - Women's Foil Individual

Anabella Acurero Gonzalez of Venezuela (left) and against May Tieu of United States of America in action during the Women's Foil Individual on Day 1 of the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games at Africa Pavilion on October 7, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
IOC/OIS
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https://olympic-vh.akamaihd.net/i/Assets/MediaPlayer/Videos/Streaming/2016/08/rio/14/fencing-men-team-epee/fencing-men-team-epee_,0200,0400,0600,1200,1800,.mp4.csmil/master.m3u8

Fencing - Épée Team Men - Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Highlights of the Fencing - Épée Team Men on Day 9 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Carioca Arena 3 on August 14, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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