Fencing at the 1924 Summer Olympics – Men's épée

The men's épée was one of seven fencing events on the Fencing at the 1924 Summer Olympics programme. It was the sixth appearance of the event, which had not been on the programme in 1896. The competition was held from Wednesday, July 10, 1924 to Thursday, July 11, 1924. 67 fencers from 18 nations competed. Nations were limited to four competitors each. The event was won by Charles Delporte of Belgium, the nation's second victory in the individual épée (matching France and Cuba for most among nations). Silver went to Roger Ducret of France. Nils Hellsten earned Sweden's first medal in the event with his bronze.

Background

This was the sixth 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.

Four of the 12 finalists from the 1920 Games returned: gold medalist Armand Massard of France, fourth-place finisher Ernest Gevers of Belgium, ninth-place finisher Gustaf Lindblom of Sweden, and tenth-place finisher Charles Delporte of Belgium. Of the first three World Champions since that event started in 1921, two were present: 1922 champion Raoul Heide of Norway and 1923 (reigning) champion Wouter Brouwer of the Netherlands. (1921 winner Lucien Gaudin competed on the French team in the team event, but was not one of the four fencers in the individual event.)

Uruguay made its debut in the event. Belgium, Great Britain, and the United States each appeared for the fifth 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. The format returned to using barrages to separate fencers tied in the advancement spot (as had been done in 1908), rather than using head-to-head results of bouts already fenced were used (as in 1912 and 1920). The size of the pools remained at the relatively large levels introduced in 1920, with the final and semifinals consisting of 12 fencers each.

First round: 7 pools of between 9 and 10 fencers each. The 6 fencers in each pool with the most wins advanced to the quarterfinals. Second round: 4 pools of 10 or 11 fencers each. The 6 fencers in each pool with the most wins advanced to the semifinals. Semifinals: 2 pools of 12 fencers each. The 6 fencers in each pool with the most wins advanced to the final. Final: 1 pool of 12 fencers.

Schedule

Date Time Round Thursday, 10 July 1924 Round 1Quarterfinals Friday, 11 July 1924 SemifinalsFinal

Results

Round 1

The top six fencers, by number of wins, in each pool advanced. Double-losses were allowed. Tie-breakers were held within a group tied on a number of wins that broke between qualification and non-qualification.

Pool A

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Ernest Gevers 6 3 Gustaf Lindblom 6 3 3 George Calnan 5 4 Joseph Misrahi 5 4 Frederico Paredes 5 4 6 Pieter von Boven 4 5 Konstantinos Nikolopoulos 4 5 Viggo Stilling-Andersen 4 5 9 Johan Falkenberg 3 6 10 Carlos Miguel 1 8

Barrage

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 6 Pieter von Boven 2 0 7 Konstantinos Nikolopoulos 1 1 8 Viggo Stilling-Andersen 0 2

Pool B

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Nils Hellsten 8 1 2 Renzo Compagna 7 2 3 Wouter Brouwer 5 4 Mário de Lopez 5 4 Léon Tom 5 4 Tryfon Triantafyllakos 5 4 Héctor Belo 5 4 8 Félix de Pomés 3 6 9 Frithjof Lorentzen 1 8 10 Ahmed Hassanein 0 9

Barrage

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 3 Wouter Brouwer 2 2 Mário de Lopez 2 1 Léon Tom 2 1 Tryfon Triantafyllakos 2 1 7 Héctor Belo 0 3

Pool C

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Charles Delporte 7 2 2 Charles Biscoe 6 3 Virgilio Mantegazza 6 3 4 George Breed 5 4 Carl Gripenstedt 5 4 6 Krikor Agathon 4 5 Domingo Mendy 4 5 8 Constantin Antoniades 3 6 9 Josef Jungmann 2 7 Miguel Zabalza 2 7

Barrage

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 6 Krikor Agathon 1 0 7 Domingo Mendy 0 1

Pool D

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Roger Ducret 6 2 Robert Frater 6 2 Pedro Nazar 6 2 4 Frédéric Fitting 5 3 5 Paul Anspach 4 4 Conrado Rolando 4 4 7 Eduardo Alonso 2 6 Theodoros Foustanos 2 6 9 Josef Javůrek 0 8

Pool E

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Eugène Empeyta 6 2 2 Armand Massard 5 3 Allen Milner 5 3 Ivan Osiier 5 3 5 Martin Holt 4 4 Luis Lucchetti 4 4 Ramíro Mañalich 4 4 8 Salvador Quesada 1 7 9 Santos Ferreira 0 8

Barrage

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 5 Martin Holt 1 0 Luis Lucchetti 1 0 7 Ramíro Mañalich 0 2

Pool F

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Gaston Cornereau 7 1 2 Sigurd Akre 4 4 Ruimondo Ferro 4 4 Willem Hubert 4 4 Wenceslao Paunero 4 4 Peter Ryefelt 4 4 7 Arthur Lyon 3 5 8 Robert Montgomerie 2 6 Jan Tille 2 6

Pool G

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Domingo García 8 1 2 Ramón Fonst 7 2 3 Georges Buchard 5 4 Raoul Heide 5 4 Henri Jacquet 5 4 6 Bror Lagercrantz 4 5 Jan de Beaufort 4 5 8 Jens Berthelsen 2 7 Francisco Bollini 2 7 António de Castro 2 7

Barrage

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 6 Bror Lagercrantz 1 0 7 Jan de Beaufort 0 1

Quarterfinals

The top six fencers, by number of wins, in each pool advanced. Double-losses were allowed. Tie-breakers were held within a group tied on a number of wins that broke between qualification and non-qualification.

Quarterfinal A

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Charles Delporte 7 3 Domingo García 7 3 Raoul Heide 7 3 Luis Lucchetti 7 3 5 Ivan Osiier 6 4 6 Roger Ducret 5 5 7 Gustaf Lindblom 4 6 8 Krikor Agathon 3 7 George Calnan 3 7 Frederico Paredes 3 7 11 Martin Holt 2 8

Quarterfinal B

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Ramón Fonst 7 2 Carl Gripenstedt 7 2 3 Henri Jacquet 6 3 Léon Tom 6 3 5 Gaston Cornereau 5 4 6 Peter Ryefelt 4 5 7 Ruimondo Ferro 3 6 8 Wouter Brouwer 2 7 Pedro Nazar 2 7 10 George Breed 1 8

Quarterfinal C Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Frédéric Fitting 9 1 2 Renzo Compagna 7 3 3 Paul Anspach 6 4 Mário de Lopez 6 4 5 Allen Milner 5 5 6 Armand Massard 4 6 Willem Hubert 4 6 Conrado Rolando 4 6 9 Tryfon Triantafyllakos 3 7 10 Robert Frater 2 8 Bror Lagercrantz 2 8

Barrage

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 6 Armand Massard 2 0 7 Willem Hubert 1 1 8 Conrado Rolando 0 2

Quarterfinal D

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Georges Buchard 6 3 Eugène Empeyta 6 3 Ernest Gevers 6 3 Nils Hellsten 6 3 Virgilio Mantegazza 6 3 6 Charles Biscoe 4 5 Joseph Misrahi 4 5 Sigurd Akre 4 5 9 Pieter von Boven 1 8 10 Wenceslao Paunero 0 9

Barrage

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 6 Charles Biscoe 2 0 7 Joseph Misrahi 1 1 8 Sigurd Akre 0 2

Semifinals

The top six fencers, by number of wins, in each pool advanced. Double-losses were allowed. Tie-breakers were held within a group tied on a number of wins that broke between qualification and non-qualification.

Semifinal A

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Léon Tom 7 4 2 Renzo Compagna 6 5 Gaston Cornereau 6 5 Charles Delporte 6 5 Roger Ducret 6 5 Nils Hellsten 6 5 7 Mário de Lopez 5 6 Raoul Heide 5 6 Luis Lucchetti 5 6 10 Henri Jacquet 4 7 Ivan Osiier 4 7 12 Frédéric Fitting 3 8

Semifinal B

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Virgilio Mantegazza 9 2 2 Georges Buchard 7 4 Armand Massard 7 4 4 Paul Anspach 6 5 5 Peter Ryefelt 5 6 6 Ernest Gevers 4 7 Charles Biscoe 4 7 Eugène Empeyta 4 7 Ramón Fonst 4 7 Domingo García 4 7 Carl Gripenstedt 4 7 Allen Milner 4 7

Barrage

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 6 Ernest Gevers 5 1 7 Charles Biscoe 3 3 Eugène Empeyta 3 3 Ramón Fonst 3 3 Domingo García 3 3 Carl Gripenstedt 3 3 12 Allen Milner 1 5

Final

Double-losses were allowed. Tie-breakers were held within a group as necessary for individual placing to sixth place; this required two rounds of tie-breakers (the first round for 2nd-5th; the second round for 2nd/3rd and 4th/5th).

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes Charles Delporte 8 3 2 Roger Ducret 7 4 Nils Hellsten 7 4 Gaston Cornereau 7 4 Armand Massard 7 4 6 Virgilio Mantegazza 6 5 7 Georges Buchard 5 6 Léon Tom 5 6 9 Paul Anspach 4 7 Peter Ryefelt 4 7 11 Renzo Compagna 2 9 12 Ernest Gevers 1 10

First barrage

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 2 Roger Ducret 2 1 Nils Hellsten 2 1 4 Gaston Cornereau 1 2 Armand Massard 1 2

Second barrage A

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Roger Ducret 1 0 Nils Hellsten 0 1

Second barrage B

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses 4 Gaston Cornereau 1 0 5 Armand Massard 0 1

Results summary

Rank Fencer Nation Round 1 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final Total Wins Losses Rank Wins Losses Rank Wins Losses Rank Wins Losses Wins Losses Charles Delporte 7 2 1st 7 3 1st 6 5 2nd 8 3 28 13 Roger Ducret 6 2 1st 5 5 6th 6 5 2nd 7+2+1 4+1+0 27 17 Nils Hellsten 8 1 1st 6 3 1st 6 5 2nd 7+2+0 4+1+1 29 15 4 Gaston Cornereau 7 1 1st 5 4 5th 6 5 2nd 7+1+1 4+2+0 27 16 5 Armand Massard 5 3 2nd 4+2 6+0 6th 7 4 2nd 7+1+0 4+2+1 26 20 6 Virgilio Mantegazza 6 3 2nd 6 3 1st 9 2 1st 6 5 27 13 7 Georges Buchard 5 4 3rd 6 3 1st 7 4 2nd 5 6 23 17 Léon Tom 5+2 4+1 3rd 6 3 3rd 7 4 1st 5 6 25 18 9 Paul Anspach 4 4 5th 6 4 3rd 6 5 4th 4 7 20 20 Peter Ryefelt 4 4 2nd 4 5 6th 5 6 5th 4 7 17 22 11 Renzo Compagna 7 2 2nd 7 3 2nd 6 5 2nd 2 9 22 19 12 Ernest Gevers 6 3 1st 6 3 1st 4+5 7+1 6th 1 10 22 24 13 Charles Biscoe 5 3 2nd 4+2 5+0 6th 4+3 7+3 7th rowspan=12 colspan=2 18 18 Eugène Empeyta 6 2 1st 6 3 1st 4+3 7+3 7th 19 15 Ramón Fonst 7 2 2nd 7 2 1st 4+3 7+3 7th 21 14 Domingo García 8 1 1st 7 3 1st 4+3 7+3 7th 22 14 Carl Gripenstedt 5 4 4th 7 2 1st 4+3 7+3 7th 19 16 Raoul Heide 5 4 3rd 7 3 1st 5 6 7th 17 13 Mário de Lopez 5+2 4+1 3rd 6 4 3rd 5 6 7th 18 15 Luis Lucchetti 4+1 4+0 5th 7 3 1st 5 6 7th 17 13 21 Henri Jacquet 5 4 3rd 6 3 3rd 4 7 10th 15 14 Ivan Osiier 5 3 2nd 6 4 5th 4 7 10th 15 14 23 Frédéric Fitting 5 3 4th 9 1 1st 3 8 12th 17 12 Allen Milner 5 3 2nd 5 5 5th 4+1 7+5 12th 15 20 25 Ruimondo Ferro 4 4 2nd 3 6 7th rowspan=18 colspan=5 7 10 Willem Hubert 4 4 2nd 4+1 6+1 7th 9 11 Gustaf Lindblom 6 3 1st 4 6 7th 10 9 Joseph Misrahi 5 4 3rd 4+1 5+1 7th 10 10 29 Krikor Agathon 4+1 5+0 6th 3 7 8th 8 12 Sigurd Akre 4 4 2nd 4+0 5+2 8th 8 11 Wouter Brouwer 5+2 4+2 3rd 2 7 8th 9 13 George Calnan 5 4 3rd 3 7 8th 8 11 Pedro Nazar 6 2 1st 2 7 8th 8 9 Frederico Paredes 5 4 3rd 3 7 8th 8 11 Conrado Rolando 4 4 5th 4+0 6+2 8th 8 12 36 Pieter von Boven 4+2 5+0 6th 1 8 9th 7 13 Tryfon Triantafyllakos 5+2 4+1 3rd 3 7 9th 10 12 38 George Breed 5 4 4th 1 8 10th 6 12 Robert Frater 6 2 1st 2 8 10th 8 10 Bror Lagercrantz 4+1 5+0 6th 2 8 10th 7 13 Wenceslao Paunero 4 4 2nd 0 9 10th 4 13 42 Martin Holt 4+1 4+0 5th 2 8 11th 7 12 43 Eduardo Alonso 2 6 7th rowspan=25 colspan=8 2 6 Jan de Beaufort 4+0 5+1 7th 4 6 Héctor Belo 5+0 4+3 7th 5 7 Theodoros Foustanos 2 6 7th 2 6 Arthur Lyon 3 5 7th 3 5 Ramíro Mañalich 4+0 4+2 7th 4 6 Domingo Mendy 4+0 5+1 7th 4 6 Konstantinos Nikolopoulos 4+1 5+1 7th 5 6 51 Constantin Antoniades 3 6 8th 3 6 Jens Berthelsen 2 7 8th 2 7 Francisco Bollini 2 7 8th 2 7 António de Castro 2 7 8th 2 7 Robert Montgomerie 2 6 8th 2 6 Félix de Pomés 3 6 8th 3 6 Salvador Quesada 1 7 8th 1 7 Viggo Stilling-Andersen 4+0 5+2 8th 4 7 Jan Tille 2 6 8th 2 6 60 Johan Falkenberg 3 6 9th 3 6 Santos Ferreira 0 8 9th 0 8 Josef Javůrek 0 8 9th 0 8 Josef Jungmann 2 7 9th 2 7 Frithjof Lorentzen 1 8 9th 1 8 Miguel Zabalza 2 7 9th 2 7 66 Ahmed Hassanein 0 9 10th 0 9 Carlos Miguel 1 8 10th 1 8

References