Fencing at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's foil

The men's foil was one of seven fencing events on the fencing at the 1936 Summer Olympics programme. It was the ninth appearance of the event. The competition was held from 5 August 1936 to 6 August 1936. 62 fencers from 22 nations competed. Nations were limited to three fencers.Official Olympic Report, la84.org. Retrieved 27 August 2018. The event was won by Giulio Gaudini of Italy, the nation's second consecutive and fourth overall victory in the men's foil (matching France for most all-time). Gaudini, who had won bronze medals in 1928 and 1932, was the first man to win three medals in the event. His countryman Giorgio Bocchino took bronze. Edward Gardère put France back on the podium after a one-Games absence.

Background

This was the ninth appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1908 (when there was a foil display only rather than a medal event). Seven of the ten 1932 finalists returned: silver medalist (and 1928 finalist) Joe Levis of the United States, two-time bronze medalist Giulio Gaudini and fourth-place finisher Gioacchino Guaragna of Italy, fifth-place finisher Erwin Casmir of Germany, sixth-place finisher Emrys Lloyd of Great Britain, and seventh-place finisher Roberto Larraz and tenth-place finisher Ángel Gorordo of Argentina. Gaudini, the 2.00 metres tall Italian, was one of the best fencers of the 1920s and 1930s and was one of the favorites in Berlin. His main competition were his fellow Italians and the French team, particularly European champion André Gardère and his brother Edward Gardère.

Brazil and Bulgaria each made their debut in the men's foil. The United States made its eighth appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the inaugural 1896 competition.

Competition format

The event used a five-round format. In each round, the fencers were divided into pools to play a round-robin within the pool. Bouts were to five touches. Not all bouts were played in some pools if not necessary to determine advancement. Two points were awarded for each bout won. Ties were broken through fence-off bouts in early rounds if necessary for determining advancement, but by touches received in final rounds (and for non-advancement-necessary placement in earlier rounds). Standard foil 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. 756. Round 1: There were 9 pools of 6–8 fencers each. The top 4 fencers in each pool advanced to round 2. Round 2: There were 6 pools of 6 fencers each. The top 4 fencers in each pool advanced to the quarterfinals. Quarterfinals: There were 4 pools of 6 fencers each. The top 4 fencers in each quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals. Semifinals: There were 2 pools of 8 fencers each. The top 4 fencers in each semifinal advanced to the final. Final: The final pool had 8 fencers.

Schedule

Date Time Round Wednesday, 5 August 1936 9:0017:5021:00 Round 1Round 2Quarterfinals Thursday, 6 August 1936 9:0015:00 SemifinalsFinal

Results

Round 1

The top 4 finishers in each pool advanced to round 2.Official Report, p. 760.

Pool 1

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 Giulio Gaudini 10 5 1 29 12 2 Bengt Ljungquist 8 4 2 26 14 3 Paul Valcke 8 4 2 26 20 4 Bohuslav Kirchmann 8 4 2 24 22 5 Ángel Gorordo 6 3 3 20 18 6 César Barros 2 1 5 7 29 7 Spyridon Ferentinos 0 0 6 13 30

Pool 2

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 André Gardère 10 5 0 25 8 2 Roberto Larraz 8 4 1 24 13 3 Konstantinos Bembis 6 3 2 20 15 4 Gottfried von Meiss 4 2 3 17 19 5 Ricardo Vagnotti 2 1 4 10 22 6 Mirko Koršič 0 0 5 7 25

Pool 3

Pecora defeated Pearce in a play-off for the fourth qualification spot.

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 Erwin Casmir 12 6 0 30 10 2 Lajos Maszlay 10 5 1 27 16 3 Aage Leidersdorff 10 5 2 30 26 4 Bill Pecora 8 4 3 25 24 5 Denis Pearce 8 4 3 26 25 6 Hervarth Frass von Friedenfeldt 4 2 5 21 28 7 Mauris Shamil 2 1 6 21 32 8 Hubert de Bèsche 0 0 7 16 35

Pool 4

The three-way tie for third was determined by play-off, with Goyoaga coming last against Tingdahl and Jesenský resulting in the latter two fencers advancing.

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 Emrys Lloyd 10 5 0 25 7 2 Josef Losert 8 4 1 22 15 3 Ivar Tingdahl 4 2 3 18 19 4 Jiří Jesenský 4 2 3 16 22 5 Tomás Goyoaga 4 2 3 17 18 6 Marjan Pengov 0 0 5 8 25

Pool 5

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 József Hátszeghy 10 5 0 25 10 2 René Lemoine 8 4 1 23 14 3 August Heim 6 3 1 19 8 4 Johan Falkenberg 6 3 1 18 10 5 Svend Jacobsen 2 1 4 11 21 6 Jean Rubli 0 0 4 8 20 7 Hermogenes Valdebenito 0 0 5 4 25

Pool 6

The three-way tie for third was determined by play-off, with Valenzuela coming last against Bay and Frølich resulting in the latter two fencers advancing.Official Report, p. 761.

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 Joe Levis 12 6 0 30 13 2 Mahmoud Abdin 10 5 1 26 20 3 Béla Bay 6 3 3 25 20 4 Jens Frølich 6 3 3 26 23 5 Rodolfo Valenzuela 6 3 3 23 22 6 Lodovico Alessandri 2 1 5 18 29 7 Ernest Dalton 0 0 6 9 30

Pool 7

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 Georges de Bourguignon 10 5 0 25 15 2 Giorgio Bocchino 8 4 0 20 9 3 Michel Fauconnet 6 3 1 19 10 4 Josef Ritz 6 3 3 21 24 5 Caspar Schrøder 4 2 4 19 26 6 Moacyr Dunham 0 0 4 10 20 7 Nils Jørgensen 0 0 5 15 25

Pool 8

Alessandroni defeated Bartlett in a tie-breaker play-off.

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 Edward Gardère 10 5 1 28 14 2 Julius Eisenecker 8 4 2 28 17 3 Karl Sudrich 8 4 1 22 16 4 Hugh Alessandroni 6 3 3 23 25 5 David Bartlett 6 3 3 22 23 6 Dimitar Vasilev 2 1 5 6 26 7 Don Collinge 0 0 5 12 25

Pool 9

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 Gioacchino Guaragna 10 5 0 25 7 2 Nikolaos Manolesos 8 4 1 21 17 3 Raymond Bru 6 3 2 21 16 4 Edo Marion 6 3 2 18 19 5 Charles Otis 2 1 4 13 24 Paul Kunze 2 1 4 9 24 7 Anwar Tawfik 2 1 5 20 28

Round 2

The top 4 finishers in each pool advanced to round 3.Official Report, p. 762.

Pool 1

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 Joe Levis 8 4 1 24 16 2 Paul Valcke 8 4 1 24 18 3 Julius Eisenecker 4 2 3 19 19 4 Giorgio Bocchino 4 2 3 16 22 5 Michel Fauconnet 4 2 3 17 20 6 Karl Sudrich 2 1 4 17 22

Pool 2

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 Giulio Gaudini 6 3 1 19 9 2 József Hátszeghy 6 3 1 16 12 3 Josef Losert 6 3 1 17 17 4 Johan Falkenberg 4 2 1 12 10 5 Ivar Tingdahl 2 1 4 15 24 6 Gottfried von Meiss 0 0 4 13 20

Pool 3

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 Edward Gardère 8 4 0 20 8 2 Lajos Maszlay 6 3 1 18 11 3 Georges de Bourguignon 6 3 1 19 13 4 Jiří Jesenský 4 2 3 15 21 5 August Heim 2 1 4 17 23 6 Josef Ritz 0 0 4 7 20

Pool 4

It is unclear why Marion did not face at least one of Bembis and Lloyd; two additional wins would have placed Marion even with Leidersdorff and Abdin in points (though they each had additional bouts that could have earned them more, if necessary).

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 Emrys Lloyd 6 3 0 15 6 2 Roberto Larraz 6 3 1 18 11 3 Aage Leidersdorff 4 2 1 11 9 4 Mahmoud Abdin 4 2 1 11 10 5 Edo Marion 0 0 3 4 15 6 Konstantinos Bembis 0 0 4 10 20

Pool 5

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 André Gardère 8 4 1 24 13 2 Raymond Bru 6 3 1 18 12 3 Gioacchino Guaragna 6 3 1 17 12 4 Jens Frølich 4 2 3 16 23 5 Hugh Alessandroni 2 1 4 17 22 Nikolaos Manolesos 2 1 4 12 22

Pool 6

Ljungquist defeated Pecora in a tie-breaker play-off.

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 Erwin Casmir 10 5 0 25 14 2 Béla Bay 6 3 2 18 13 3 René Lemoine 8 3 2 20 21 4 Bengt Ljungquist 4 2 3 18 19 5 William Thomas Pecora 4 2 3 16 20 6 Bohuslav Kirchmann 0 0 5 15 25

Quarterfinals

The top 4 finishers in each pool advanced to the semifinals.Official Report, p. 763.

Quarterfinal 1

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 Giulio Gaudini 8 4 0 20 5 2 André Gardère 6 3 1 17 12 2 Julius Eisenecker 6 3 1 15 12 4 Béla Bay 4 2 2 13 17 5 Johan Falkenberg 0 0 4 6 20 Roberto Larraz 0 0 4 15 20

Quarterfinal 2

The three-way tie for third was determined by play-off, with Maszlay coming last against Bru and Losert resulting in the latter two fencers advancing.

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 Joe Levis 10 5 0 25 16 2 Edward Gardère 6 3 1 18 9 3 Raymond Bru 4 2 3 21 22 4 Josef Losert 4 2 3 17 18 5 Lajos Maszlay 4 2 3 17 20 6 Bengt Ljungquist 0 0 4 7 20

Quarterfinal 3

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 Erwin Casmir 8 4 1 23 13 2 Gioacchino Guaragna 6 3 1 18 10 3 József Hátszeghy 6 3 2 20 19 4 Georges de Bourguignon 4 2 2 18 15 5 Jens Frølich 2 1 4 15 24 Jiří Jesenský 2 1 4 11 24

Quarterfinal 4

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 Giorgio Bocchino 6 3 1 17 11 2 René Lemoine 6 3 1 17 12 3 Paul Valcke 6 3 1 16 13 4 Emrys Lloyd 6 3 2 19 14 5 Mahmoud Abdin 2 1 4 17 22 6 Aage Leidersdorff 0 0 4 6 20

Semifinals

The top 4 finishers in each pool advanced to the final.Official Report, p. 764.

Semifinal 1

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 Giulio Gaudini 12 6 1 34 20 2 Giorgio Bocchino 10 5 1 28 18 3 André Gardère 8 4 2 26 19 4 Raymond Bru 8 4 3 25 26 5 Emrys Lloyd 6 3 4 28 24 6 Paul Valcke 4 2 5 19 28 7 József Hátszeghy 4 2 5 20 31 8 Julius Eisenecker 2 1 6 20 34

Semifinal 2

The three-way tie for third was determined by play-off, with Maszlay coming last against Bru and Losert resulting in the latter two fencers advancing.

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Notes 1 Gioacchino Guaragna 12 6 0 30 12 2 Erwin Casmir 10 5 1 28 18 3 Edward Gardère 10 5 1 29 21 4 Georges de Bourguignon 8 4 3 28 29 5 Béla Bay 6 3 4 27 28 6 René Lemoine 4 2 5 19 32 7 Joe Levis 2 1 5 19 25 8 Josef Losert 0 0 6 15 30

Final

In the final pool, ties—including the tie for the bronze medal—were broken by touches received rather than by play-offs as in previous rounds.

Rank Fencer Nation Points Wins Losses Giulio Gaudini 14 7 0 35 20 Edward Gardère 12 6 1 33 25 Giorgio Bocchino 8 4 3 28 22 4 Erwin Casmir 8 4 3 31 29 5 Gioacchino Guaragna 6 3 4 30 28 6 Raymond Bru 6 3 4 25 31 7 André Gardère 2 1 6 23 32 8 Georges de Bourguignon 0 0 7 17 35

References