The men's team sabre was one of four fencing events on the Fencing at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. The event was won by the Hungarian team, who also took the top two medals in the individual sabre event. Each nation could enter a team of up to 8 fencers, with 4 fencers chosen for each match.Official Report, p. 34.
Competition format
The tournament used a variant of the Bergvall system, holding a single elimination bracket for the gold medal with a repechage ending in a match for silver and bronze. Each match featured 4 fencers from one team facing 4 fencers from the other team, for a total of 16 individual bouts. Bouts were to 3 touches.
With 8 teams, the main bracket consisted of quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. Teams defeated by the gold medalist in the main bracket moved to the repechage. With 3 teams in the repechage, a repechage "semifinal" and "final" (which awarded the silver medal to the winner and bronze medal to the loser) were scheduled (Bohemia did not contest the repechage final).
Results
Main bracket
First round
Winners advanced, losers out. The team that was defeated by the eventual champions moved to the repechage.
Winners Losers Nation Fencers Bouts lost Bouts lost Fencers Nation Marcello Bertinetti Sante Ceccherini Abelardo Olivier Alessandro Pirzio-Biroli 5 11 H. Evan James William Marsh Archibald Murray Charles Wilson Georges de la Falaise Bertrand Marie de Lesseps Marc Perrodon Louis Renaud 6 10 André du Bosch Etienne Grade Antoine van Tomme Joseph van der Voodt Otakar Lada Vlastimil Lada-Sázavský Vilém Goppold von Lobsdorf Bedřich Schejbal 8 9 Jetze Doorman Adrianus de Jong Jacob van Löben Sels George van Rossem Jenő Fuchs Oszkár Gerde Péter Tóth Lajos Werkner 0 9 Jakob Erkrath de Bary Fritz Jack Robert Krünert August Petri
Semifinals
Winners advanced to play for the gold medal, loser to eventual champion was sent to repechage.
Winners Losers Nation Fencers Bouts lost Bouts lost Fencers Nation Otakar Lada Vlastimil Lada-Sázavský Vilém Goppold von Lobsdorf Bedřich Schejbal 7 9 Georges de la Falaise Bertrand Marie de Lesseps Marc Perrodon Louis Renaud Dezső Földes Jenő Fuchs Oszkár Gerde Péter Tóth 5 11 Marcelo Bertinetti Sante Ceccherini Abelardo Olivier Alessandro Pirzio-Biroli
Final
The winner received the gold medal, while the loser had to play the winner of the repechage in the silver medal match.
Winners Losers Nation Fencers Bouts lost Bouts lost Fencers Nation Jenő Fuchs Oszkár Gerde Péter Tóth Lajos Werkner 7 9 Vlastimil Lada-Sázavský Vilém Goppold von Lobsdorf Bedřich Schejbal Jaroslav Šourek-Tucek
Repechage
Germany and Italy had been defeated by Hungary, the winner of the final, in the first two rounds. The two teams faced each other for the right to advance to the silver medal match against the loser of the final.
Round 1
Winners Losers Nation Fencers Bouts lost Bouts lost Fencers Nation Marcelo Bertinetti Riccardo Nowak Abelardo Olivier Alessandro Pirzio-Biroli 4 10 Jakob Erkrath de Bary Fritz Jack Robert Krünert August Petri
Silver medal match
The winner took the silver medal, with loser receiving bronze. The Bohemian team refused to play the match, arguing that as finalists they had already secured second place. The organizing committee awarded silver medals to Italy, relegating the Bohemian team to bronze medals.
Winners Losers Nation Fencers Hits against Hits against Fencers Nation No match; Bohemia did not start
Notes
Sources
De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Fencing 1908". Accessed 1 May 2006. Available electronically at .