The men's épée was a fencing event held as part of the Fencing at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme in Stockholm, Sweden. It was the fourth appearance of the event, which had been introduced in 1900. The competition was held from 11 to 13 July at the Östermalm Athletic Grounds. There were 93 competitors from 15 nations. Each nation could enter up to 12 fencers. The event was won by Paul Anspach of Belgium. His countryman Philippe le Hardy took bronze. Silver went to Denmark's Ivan Joseph Martin Osiier, the only medal won by the perennial Olympian who competed in seven Games over 40 years. The medals were the first in the men's épée for both nations.
Background
This was the fourth appearance of the event, which was not held at the first Games in 1896 (with only foil and sabre events held) but has been held at every Summer Olympics since 1900.
Three of the eight finalists from the 1908 Games returned: fourth-place finisher Robert Montgomerie of Great Britain, fifth-place finisher Paul Anspach of Belgium, and eighth-place finisher Martin Holt of Great Britain. 1904 bronze medalist Albertson Van Zo Post (this time correctly recognized as American rather than Cuban) also returned. The event was heavily impacted by boycotts by two of the top fencing nations over rules disputes. A dispute over the target area for foil fencing resulted in France initially boycotting the foil events and, at the last minute, expanding the boycott to all fencing events. A dispute over the maximum length of the épée blade resulted in Italy boycotting the épée events (though Italy did compete in other fencing events). These disputes would result in the creation of the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime to establish a governing body for the sport.Official Report, p. 455.
Austria, Greece, Portugal, and the Russian Empire each made their debut in the event. Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States each appeared for the third time, tied for most among nations.
Competition format
The competition was held over four rounds. In each round, each pool held a round-robin, with bouts to 1 touch. Double-touches counted as touches against both fencers. Rather than hold separate barrages to separate fencers tied in the advancement spot (as had been done in 1908), the head-to-head results of bouts already fenced were used.
First round: 16 pools of between 3 and 8 fencers each. The 3 fencers in each pool with the fewest touches against advanced to the quarterfinals. This resulted in some pools where all fencers received a bye. Second round: 8 pools of 6 fencers each. The 3 fencers in each pool with the fewest touches against advanced to the semifinals. Semifinals: 4 pools of 6 fencers each. The 2 fencers in each pool with the fewest touches against advanced to the final. Final: 1 pool of 8 fencers.
Schedule
Date Time Round Thursday, 11 July 1912 9:0012:0015:00 Round 1 pools A–DRound 1 pools E–HRound 1 pools I–L Friday, 12 July 1912 9:0012:0015:00 Round 1 pools M–PQuarterfinals pools A–DQuarterfinals pools E–H Saturday, 13 July 1912 9:0014:00 SemifinalsFinal
Results
Round 1
Pool A
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Henrik de Iongh 1 Einar Levison 1 3 Sotirios Notaris 2 4 Victor Willems 3 5 Julius Lichtenfels 4 6 Åke Grönhagen 5 7 Gordon Alexander 6 Pavel Guvorsky 6
Pool B
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Paul Anspach 1 Petros Manos 1 3 Jens Berthelsen 3 4 Friedrich Schwarz 3 5 Knut Enell 4 Aleksandr Soldatenkov 4 A M Hassanein
Pool C
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Konstantinos Kotzias 1 2 Léon Tom 2 3 Arthur Griez 4 4 Hans Bergsland 4 Vladimir Kayser 4 — Fernando Correia Viliam Tvrzský
Pool D
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Vilém Goppold, Jr. 1 Einar Sörensen 1 3 Severin Finne 2 4 Sherman Hall 4 George van Rossem 4 Vladimir Sarnavsky 4
Pool E
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Zdeněk Vávra 1 2 Gavriil Bertrain 1 3 George Breed 1 4 Christopher von Tangen 3
Pool F
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Jacques Ochs 1 Edgar Seligman 1 3 Miloš Klika 3 4 Bjarne Eriksen 3 5 Lev Martyushev 4
Pool G
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Lars Aas 2 2 Philippe le Hardy 3 Martin Holt 3 4 Alfred Sauer 3 5 Josef Javůrek 4 Albertus Perk 4 7 Walter Gates 5
Pool H
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Robert Montgomerie 1 2 František Kříž 2 Fernand de Montigny 2 4 Marc Larimer 3 Harald Platou 3 6 Heinrich Schrader 5
Pool I
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Victor Boin 0 2 Arthur Everitt 1 3 Sigurd Mathiesen 2 4 Graeme Hammond 3 5 Jacob van Geuns 4
Pool J
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Hans Thomson 2 2 Jan de Beaufort 2 3 Louis Sparre 2 4 Gaston Salmon 3 5 Percival Davson 4 Josef Pfeiffer 4 7 John MacLaughlin 5
Pool K
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Edgar Amphlett — Henri Anspach — Frederic Schenck —
Pool L
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Ivan Osiier 0 2 Zdeněk Bárta 1 3 William Bowman 2 4 Ernest Stenson-Cooke 3
Pool M
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Gustaf Lindblom 3 2 Adrianus de Jong 3 3 Georgios Versis 3 4 Sydney Martineau 3 Hermann Plaskuda 3 6 Marcel Berré 4 7 John Gignoux 5 8 Hans Olsen 6
Pool N
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Albertson van zo Post — Pál Rosty — Charles Vanderbyl —
Pool O
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Georg Branting 1 2 Emil Schön 2 Trifon Triantafyllakos 2 4 Willem van Blijenburgh 3 5 Oluf Berntsen 4 John Blake 4 7 Béla Békessy 5 James Moore 5
Pool P
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Georgios Petropoulos 1 2 Gerald Ames 2 3 Karel Goppold 2 4 Lauritz Østrup 3 5 Walther Meienreis 4 6 Willem Molijn 5
Quarterfinals
Quarterfinal A
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Ivan Osiier 1 Zdeněk Vávra 1 3 Edgar Seligman 2 4 Fernand de Montigny 3 Frederic Schenck 3 6 Hendrik de Iongh 4
Quarterfinal B
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Philippe le Hardy 0 2 William Bowman 2 3 Miloš Klika 2 4 Sotirios Notaris 2 5 Gavriil Bertrain 4 Arthur Everitt 4
Quarterfinal C
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 František Kříž 1 2 Edgar Amphlett 2 3 Einar Levison 2 4 Jacques Ochs 4 Hans Thomson 4 6 Lars Aas 4
Quarterfinal D
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Paul Anspach 2 2 Robert Montgomerie 2 3 Georgios Petropoulos 2 4 Jan de Beaufort 3 Arthur Griez 3 6 Severin Finne 3
Quarterfinal E
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Einar Sörensen 1 2 Gerald Ames 2 Petros Manos 2 4 George Breed 3 Sigurd Mathiesen 3 6 Emil Schön 4
Quarterfinal F
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Vilém Goppold, Jr. 1 2 Victor Boin 2 Gustaf Lindblom 2 4 Trifon Triantafyllakos 3 5 Charles Vanderbyl 4 6 Jens Berthelsen 5
Quarterfinal G
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Henri Anspach 0 2 Adrianus de Jong 2 Pál Rosty 2 4 Konstantinos Kotzias 3 5 Karel Goppold 4 Louis Sparre 4
Quarterfinal H
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Léon Tom 1 2 Georg Branting 1 3 Martin Holt 2 4 Georgios Versis 3 5 Zdeněk Bárta 4 Albertson van zo Post 3
Semifinals
Semifinal A
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Einar Sörensen 1 Léon Tom 1 3 William Bowman 3 Petros Manos 3 5 Edgar Amphlett 4 Zdeněk Vávra 4
Semifinal B
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Edgar Seligman 0 2 Paul Anspach 0 3 Adrianus de Jong 2 4 Gerald Ames 3 Pál Rosty 3 6 Miloš Klika 5
Semifinal C
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Victor Boin 2 Ivan Osiier 2 3 Henri Anspach 2 4 Gustaf Lindblom 3 Robert Montgomerie 3 6 František Kříž 5
Semifinal D
Rank Fencer Nation Losses Notes 1 Philippe le Hardy 2 Martin Holt 2 3 Georgios Petropoulos 2 4 Georg Branting 4 Einar Levison 4 6 Vilém Goppold, Jr. 4
Final
Three of Holt's matches were double-losses: those against le Hardy, Boin, and Seligman.
Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Paul Anspach 6 1 Ivan Osiier 5 2 Philippe le Hardy 4 3 4 Victor Boin 4 3 5 Einar Sörensen 3 4 6 Edgar Seligman 2 5 7 Léon Tom 1 6 8 Martin Holt 0 7
Results summary
Rank Fencer Nation Round 1Rank QuarterfinalsRank SemifinalsRank Final Wins Losses Paul Anspach 1st 1st 2nd 6 1 Ivan Osiier 1st 1st 1st 5 2 Philippe le Hardy 2nd 1st 1st 4 3 4 Victor Boin 1st 2nd 1st 4 3 5 Einar Sörensen 1st 1st 1st 3 4 6 Edgar Seligman 1st 3rd 1st 2 5 7 Léon Tom 2nd 1st 1st 1 6 8 Martin Holt 2nd 3rd 1st 0 7 9 Henri Anspach 1st 1st 3rd rowspan=16 colspan=2 William Bowman 3rd 2nd 3rd Adrianus de Jong 2nd 2nd 3rd Petros Manos 1st 2nd 3rd Georgios Petropoulos 1st 3rd 3rd 14 Gerald Ames 2nd 2nd 4th Georg Branting 1st 2nd 4th Einar Levison 1st 3rd 4th Gustaf Lindblom 1st 2nd 4th Robert Montgomerie 1st 2nd 4th Pál Rosty 1st 2nd 4th 20 Edgar Amphlett 1st 2nd 5th Zdeněk Vávra 1st 1st 5th 22 Vilém Goppold, Jr. 1st 1st 6th Miloš Klika 3rd 3rd 6th František Kříž 2nd 1st 6th 25 Jan de Beaufort 2nd 4th rowspan=24 colspan=3 George Breed 3rd 4th Arthur Griez 3rd 4th Konstantinos Kotzias 1st 4th Sigurd Mathiesen 3rd 4th Fernand de Montigny 2nd 4th Sotirios Notaris 3rd 4th Jacques Ochs 1st 4th Frederic Schenck 1st 4th Hans Thomson 1st 4th Trifon Triantafyllakos 2nd 4th Georgios Versis 3rd 4th 37 Zdeněk Bárta 2nd 5th Gavriil Bertrain 2nd 5th Arthur Everitt 2nd 5th Karel Goppold 3rd 5th Albertson van zo Post 1st 5th Louis Sparre 3rd 5th Charles Vanderbyl 1st 5th 44 Lars Aas 1st 6th Jens Berthelsen 3rd 6th Severin Finne 3rd 6th Hendrik de Iongh 1st 6th Emil Schön 2nd 6th 49 Hans Bergsland 4th rowspan=46 colspan=4 Willem van Blijenburgh 4th Bjarne Eriksen 4th Sherman Hall 4th Graeme Hammond 4th Vladimir Kayser 4th Marc Larimer 4th Sydney Martineau 4th Lauritz Østrup 4th Hermann Plaskuda 4th Harald Platou 4th George van Rossem 4th Gaston Salmon 4th Vladimir Sarnavsky 4th Alfred Sauer 4th Friedrich Schwarz 4th Ernest Stenson-Cooke 4th Christopher von Tangen 4th Victor Willems 4th 68 Oluf Berntsen 5th John Blake 5th Percival Davson 5th Knut Enell 5th Jacob van Geuns 5th Josef Javůrek 5th Julius Lichtenfels 5th Lev Martyushev 5th Walther Meienreis 5th Albertus Perk 5th Josef Pfeiffer 5th Aleksandr Soldatenkov 5th 80 Marcel Berré 6th Åke Grönhagen 6th Willem Molijn 6th Heinrich Schrader 6th 84 Gordon Alexander 7th Béla Békessy 7th Walter Gate 7th John Gignoux 7th Pavel Guvorsky 7th John MacLaughlin 7th James Moore 7th 91 Hans Olsen 8th 92 Fernando Correia Viliam Tvrzský — A M Hassanein
References