Yves Dreyfus (17 May 1931 – 16 December 2021) was a French epee fencer who won two bronze medals as part of the French Olympic épée team, one in 1956 and one in 1964.
Life and career Dreyfus was born in Clermont-Ferrand, France, to Raoul Andre Dreyfus and Nelly Caroline Haas on May 17, 1931, and was Jewish.Yves Dreyfus - Auteur - Ressources de la Bibliothèque nationale de FranceYves Dreyfus Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.comDay by Day in Jewish Sports History - Bob WechslerEncyclopedia of Jews in Sports - Bernard Postal, Jesse Silver, Roy SilverJews and the Olympic Games: sport: a springboard for minorities - Paul Yogi Mayer He survived the Nazi occupation of France as a child despite being Jewish by taking the name Yves Doucet. In 1955, he was married to Marie Lise Levy."Yves Dreyfus et escrime"
Olympics Dreyfus was a three-time Olympian for France and won two bronze medals in épée, one in 1956 and one in 1964, competing well but not medaling in 1960.Yves DREYFUS - Olympic Fencing | France
1956 At the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne at the age of 25 he won a bronze medal in team épée. The French Team defeated Great Britain, but lost to Hungary and Italy.
1960 Though making a good showing, at the 1960 Olympics in Rome at the age of 29 he came in 6th in individual épée but was eliminated in the final round, though he survived the first, and second rounds, as well as the quarter finals, semi-finals and finals. Italian Giuseppe Delfino took the gold in epee, and Alan Jay of Britain the silver. American Albert Axelrod, another Jewish competitor but in Foil, won the bronze in individual competition that year. Dreyfus tied for 9th with the French épée team, putting him out of medal contention.
1964 At the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo at the age of 33 he fenced in the individual épée and won a bronze medal in the team épée.Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice The French epee team defeated Germany in the Quarter Finals, but lost to Hungary 9-3 in the semi-finals. 1960's fencing power Hungary took the team gold with frequent rival Italy the silver.
World championships He took an individual bronze in the 1954 World Championships in Luxembourg, taking a total of nine medals in those games. In 1962, he took a bronze individual medal in the World Championships in Buenos Aires. In July 1963, he took a silver medal in the individual épée competition at World Championships at Gdansk, Poland, narrowly defeating Couram Kostava of Russia. At only 19, Romand Locert of Austria won the individual epee gold."Wins Fencing Title", The Sault Star, Sault, St. Marie, Ontario, pg. 16, 25 July 1963"Fencing, Austrian Takes Gold Medal", The Daily Telegraph, London, Greater London, England, pg. 9, 25 July 1963
He took team medals in the World Championships, fencing in épée, securing Gold in 1962, 1965, and 1966, and taking silver in 1961, 1963 and 1967. In 1965 at the Paris Worlds, he defeated Henry Hoskyns of Great Britain in the final epee match to help lead his team to the gold, with the British team taking the silver, and the Russian team the bronze."French Down English For Epee Crown", Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, pg. 156, 11 July 1965
Mediterranean Games, French nationals He won a gold medal at the 1963 Mediterranean Games in the individual épée event. In 1964, he won the French national championship in épée.Dreyfus, Yves : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum
Maccabiah Games He won a gold medal in individual épée at the 1961 Maccabiah Games. He competed for France at the 1965 Maccabiah Games.The Times from Shreveport, Louisiana on August 22, 1965 · Page 41Jewish Post 12 March He won gold medals in both individual epee and team epee at the 1977 Maccabiah Games.
Honors In 1966, he was decorated by General Charles de Gaulle. In 1967, he was given the National Order of Merit by the French Council of Ministers.The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle from Milwaukee, Wisconsin on September 29, 1967 · Page 17 He later became a Master of Arms.Succès renouvelé pour le tournoi à l’épée - Cournon-d'Auvergne (63800) - La Montagne
In 2017, he received the Fair Play Award from Alain Calmat, given by the French Association for Sport Without Violence and For Fair Play. Calmat was a Jewish Olympic Figure Skater and World Champion, and lived a life of public service.
Dreyfus died on 16 December 2021, at the age of 90 in Ceyrat, Puy-de-Dôme, France.Yves Dreyfus' obituary He wrote three books on fencing in his career, and participated in Masters Fencing as late as 2001.
See also List of select Jewish fencers List of Jewish Olympic medalists
Further reading
References
External links Jews in Sports bio Jewish Olympic Medalists List of Jewish Fencers