The professional event in épée at the 1900 Summer Olympics had 54 fencers from 5 nations compete. The event took place from 11 to 14 June at the Tuileries Garden. The event was won by Albert Ayat of France, leading a French sweep with Gilbert Bougnol taking silver and Henri Laurent bronze.
Background
Fencing was the only sport that had professional competitions at the Olympics in 1900 and 1904. A professional foil event was held in 1900, with épée and sabre joining in 1904. The professional events were not held again afterwards (excepting the 1906 Intercalated Games, so this was the only time that masters épée was contested. The épée events also featured a unique competition: an amateurs-masters épée event. The top 4 fencers in this event, as well as the top 4 fencers in the amateurs épée event, were eligible for that competition.
Competition format
The event used a three-round format: quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. Each round consisted of pool play. For the quarterfinals, the fencers were divided into 9 pools of 6 fencers each; the top two fencers in each pool advanced to the semifinals. The semifinals had the 18 men compete in 3 pools of 6, with the top 3 in each pool advancing to a 9-man final.
The actual competition format within pools is not entirely clear. No results are known beyond the rankings.
Schedule
Date Time Round Monday, 11 June 1900 Quarterfinals Tuesday, 12 June 1900 Quarterfinals continued Wednesday, 13 June 1900 Semifinals Thursday, 14 June 1900 Final
Results
Quarterfinals
In the quarterfinals, the fencers were divided into 9 pools of 6 fencers each, with the top two advancing from each pool to the semifinal. The first round was held on 11 and 12 June.
Quarterfinal A
Rank Fencer Nation Notes 1 Aufort 2 LézardThere were two French fencers with the last name Lézard. The one who competed in round 1 pool A continued in semifinal A and advanced to the final. The one who competed in round 1 pool D was eliminated in semifinal C. 3–6 Debrinay Deprey Alfred Nau Antonius van Nieuwenhuizen
Quarterfinal B
Rank Fencer Nation Notes 1 Henri Pantin 2 Louis Haller 3–6 Assé Flahaut Joseph-Auguste Métais Francis Sabourin
Quarterfinal C
Rank Fencer Nation Notes 1 Georges Jourdan 2 Jean Jeanvoix 3–6 Bormel Roquais Surzet Léon Thiércelin
Quarterfinal D
Rank Fencer Nation Notes 1 Brassart 2 Sylvain Lézard 3–6 Céré Élie Dufraisse Louis Garnoty Charles Marty
Quarterfinal E
Rank Fencer Nation Notes 1 Gilbert Bougnol 2 Hippolyte-Jacques Hyvernaud 3–6 Charles Cléry Constant Dulau Jean Lafoucrière Nègrout
Quarterfinal F
Rank Fencer Nation Notes 1 Jean Michel 2 Félix Ayat 3–6 Xavier Anchetti Emmanuel Andrieu Márton Endrédy Launay
Quarterfinal G
Rank Fencer Nation Notes 1 Albert Ayat 2 Henri Laurent 3–6 UnknownThe identities of the non-qualifying fencers in the G, H, and I pools are unknown. Entry numbers by nationality indicate that of the 12 unknowns, 8 were French, 2 Hungarian, and 2 Italian.
Quarterfinal H
Rank Fencer Nation Notes 1 Marie-Louis Damotte 2 Henri Yvon 3–6 Unknown
Quarterfinal I
Rank Fencer Nation Notes 1 Georges-Louis Bézy 2 Charles Clappier 3–6 Unknown
Semifinals
The semifinals were held on 13 June. 3 pools with 6 fencers each competed in round-robin format, with the top 3 fencers in each pool advancing.
Semifinal A
Rank Fencer Nation Notes 1 Georges Jourdan 2 Lézard 3 Marie-Louis Damotte 4-6 Aufort Jean Jeanvoix Henri Pantin
Semifinal B
Rank Fencer Nation Notes 1 Gilbert Bougnol 2 Brassart 3 Hippolyte-Jacques Hyvernaud 4-6 Félix Ayat Louis Haller Jean Michel
Semifinal C
Rank Fencer Nation Notes 1 Albert Ayat 2 Henri Laurent 3 Georges-Louis Bézy 4-6 Charles Clappier Sylvain Lézard Henri Yvon
Final
The final was conducted on 14 June.
Rank Fencer Nation Albert Ayat Gilbert Bougnol Henri Laurent 4 Hippolyte-Jacques Hyvernaud 5 Marie-Louis Damotte 6 Brassart 7 Lézard 8 Georges Jourdan 9 Georges-Louis Bézy
Results summary
Rank Fencer Nation Quarterfinals Semifinals Final Albert Ayat 1st 1st 1st Gilbert Bougnol 1st 1st 2nd Henri Laurent 2nd 2nd 3rd 4 Hippolyte-Jacques Hyvernaud 2nd 3rd 4th 5 Marie-Louis Damotte 1st 3rd 5th 6 Brassart 1st 2nd 6th 7 Lézard 2nd 2nd 7th 8 Georges Jourdan 1st 1st 8th 9 Georges-Louis Bézy 1st 3rd 9th 10 Aufort 1st 4th–6th rowspan=9 Félix Ayat 2nd 4th–6th Charles Clappier 2nd 4th–6th Louis Haller 2nd 4th–6th Jean Jeanvoix 2nd 4th–6th Sylvain Lézard 2nd 4th–6th Jean Michel 1st 4th–6th Henri Pantin 1st 4th–6th Henri Yvon 2nd 4th–6th 19 Xavier Anchetti 3rd–6th rowspan=25 colspan=2 Emmanuel Andrieu 3rd–6th Assé 3rd–6th Bormel 3rd–6th Céré 3rd–6th Charles Cléry 3rd–6th Debrinay 3rd–6th Deprey 3rd–6th Élie Dufraisse 3rd–6th Constant Dulau 3rd–6th Márton Endrédy 3rd–6th Flahaut 3rd–6th Louis Garnoty 3rd–6th Jean Lafoucrière 3rd–6th Launay 3rd–6th Charles Marty 3rd–6th Joseph-Auguste Métais 3rd–6th Alfred Nau 3rd–6th Nègrout 3rd–6th Antonius van Nieuwenhuizen 3rd–6th Roquais 3rd–6th Francis Sabourin 3rd–6th Surzet 3rd–6th Léon Thiércelin 3rd–6th 12 unknown competitors 3rd–6th
References