Fencing at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's épée

Men's épée at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad
A bout during the competition
Venue	Carioca Arena 3
Date	9 August 2016
Competitors	38 from 20 nations
Medalists
Park Sang-young  South Korea Géza Imre  Hungary Gauthier Grumier  France

The men's épée competition in fencing at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was held on 9 August at the Carioca Arena 3.^[1] There were 38 competitors from 20 nations. South Korea's Park Sang-young won the individual gold, the first victory for South Korea in the event after bronze medals in 2000 and 2012. Géza Imre took silver, Hungary's first medal in the event since 1996. Imre, at age 41, was the oldest individual fencing medalist since 1952.^[2] Gauthier Grumier of France earned bronze.

In the final, Imre led 14-10 before Park scored the final 5 points to win 15–14.^[2]

Background

This was the 27th 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.^[2]

Five of the eight quarterfinalists from 2012 returned: gold medalist Rubén Limardo of Venezuela, bronze medalist Jung Jin-Sun of South Korea, fifth-place finisher Paolo Pizzo of Italy, sixth-place finisher Silvio Fernández of Venezuela, and seventh-place finisher Yannick Borel of France. Géza Imre of Hungary was the reigning (2015) World Champion; other World Champions competing in the event were Nikolai Novosjolov (2010 and 2013), Anton Avdeev (2009) and Pizzo (2011). France's Gauthier Grumier was the top seed in the tournament.^[2]

No nations made their debut in the event, though one Kuwaiti athlete competed as an Independent Olympic Athlete. France and the United States each appeared for the 25th time, tied for most among nations.

Qualification

Main article: Fencing at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Nations were limited to three fencers each from 1928 to 2004. However, the 2008 Games introduced a rotation of men's team fencing events with one weapon left off each Games; the individual event without a corresponding team event had the number of fencers per nation reduced to two. Men's épée was the second event this applied to, so each nation could enter a maximum of two fencers in the event in 2012. The team épée was back in 2016 (sabre the missing weapon for men), so the limit was three for 2016.

There were 35 dedicated quota spots for men's épée. The first 24 spots went to the 3 members of each of the 8 qualified teams in the team foil event. Next, 7 more men were selected from the world rankings based on continents: 2 from Europe, 2 from the Americas, 2 from Asia/Oceania, and 1 from Africa. Finally, 4 spots were allocated by continental qualifying events: 1 from Europe, 1 from the Americas, 1 from Asia/Oceania, and 1 from Africa.

Additionally, there were 8 host/invitational spots that could be spread throughout the various fencing events. Brazil used 3 of those places in the men's épée, resulting in a total of 38 competitors.

Competition format

The épée competition, following the format introduced in 1996, consisted of a six-round single-elimination bracket with a bronze medal match between the two semifinal losers. Fencing was done to 15 touches or to the completion of three three-minute rounds if neither fencer reached 15 touches by then. At the end of time, the higher-scoring fencer was the winner; a tie resulted in an additional one-minute sudden-death time period. This sudden-death period was further modified by the selection of a draw-winner beforehand; if neither fencer scored a touch during the minute, the predetermined draw-winner won the bout.

Schedule

All times are Brasília Time (UTC-03:00)

Date	Time	Round
Sunday, 7 August 2016	9:00 10:15 12:30 13:45 16:00 17:15 17:45	Round of 64 Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Bronze medal match Final

Results

Top half

Section 1

	Round of 64					Round of 32					Round of 16					Quarter-finals
						Gauthier Grumier (FRA)		15
	Jiří Beran (CZE)		6			Athos Schwantes (BRA)		7
	Athos Schwantes (BRA)		8								Gauthier Grumier (FRA)		15
											Ayman Fayez (EGY)		9
						Rubén Limardo (VEN)		5
						Ayman Fayez (EGY)		15
																Gauthier Grumier (FRA)		15
																Kazuyasu Minobe (JPN)		8
						Kazuyasu Minobe (JPN)		15
						Marco Fichera (ITA)		8
											Kazuyasu Minobe (JPN)		15
											Anton Avdeev (RUS)		12
						Anton Avdeev (RUS)		15
						Bas Verwijlen (NED)		9

Section 2

	Round of 64					Round of 32					Round of 16					Quarter-finals
						Daniel Jérent (FRA)		14
	Nicolas Ferreira (BRA)		9			Francisco Limardo (VEN)		15
	Francisco Limardo (VEN)		15								Francisco Limardo (VEN)		12
											Nikolai Novosjolov (EST)		15
						Nikolai Novosjolov (EST)		12
						Park Kyoung-doo (KOR)		10
																Nikolai Novosjolov (EST)		9
																Géza Imre (HUN)		15
						Gábor Boczkó (HUN)		15
						Alexandre Bouzaid (SEN)		9
											Gábor Boczkó (HUN)		8
	Jhon Édison Rodríguez (COL)		15								Géza Imre (HUN)		15
	Dmytro Karyuchenko (UKR)		7			Jhon Édison Rodríguez (COL)		8
						Géza Imre (HUN)		15

Bottom half

Section 3

	Round of 64					Round of 32					Round of 16					Quarter-finals
						Bohdan Nikishyn (UKR)		15
	Guilherme Melaragno (BRA)		13			Jiao Yunlong (CHN)		11
	Jiao Yunlong (CHN)		15								Bohdan Nikishyn (UKR)		14
											Benjamin Steffen (SUI)		15
						Jason Pryor (USA)		14
						Benjamin Steffen (SUI)		15
																Benjamin Steffen (SUI)		15
																Yannick Borel (FRA)		10
						Fabian Kauter (SUI)		15
						Anatoliy Herey (UKR)		9
											Fabian Kauter (SUI)		14
	András Rédli (HUN)		14								Yannick Borel (FRA)		15
	Abdulaziz Al-Shatti (IOA)		13			András Rédli (HUN)		9
						Yannick Borel (FRA)		15

Section 4

	Round of 64					Round of 32					Round of 16					Quarter-finals
						Vadim Anokhin (RUS)		15
						Maxime Brinck-Croteau (CAN)		14
											Vadim Anokhin (RUS)		7
											Max Heinzer (SUI)		15
						Paolo Pizzo (ITA)		11
						Max Heinzer (SUI)		15
																Max Heinzer (SUI)		4
																Park Sang-young (KOR)		15
						Pavel Sukhov (RUS)		11
						Park Sang-young (KOR)		15
											Park Sang-young (KOR)		15
	Jung Jin-sun (KOR)		15								Enrico Garozzo (ITA)		12
	Silvio Fernández (VEN)		8			Jung Jin-sun (KOR)		11
						Enrico Garozzo (ITA)		15

Finals

	Semi-finals				Final
	Gauthier Grumier (FRA)	13
	Géza Imre (HUN)	15
					Géza Imre (HUN)	14
					Park Sang-young (KOR)	15
	Benjamin Steffen (SUI)	9
	Park Sang-young (KOR)	15
					Bronze medal match
					Gauthier Grumier (FRA)	15
					Benjamin Steffen (SUI)	11

Results summary

Rank	Fencer	Nation
	Park Sang-young	South Korea
	Géza Imre	Hungary
	Gauthier Grumier	France
4	Benjamin Steffen	Switzerland
5	Yannick Borel	France
6	Kazuyasu Minobe	Japan
7	Max Heinzer	Switzerland
8	Nikolai Novosjolov	Estonia
9	Enrico Garozzo	Italy
10	Bogdan Nikishin	Ukraine
11	Vadim Anokhin	Russia
12	Fabian Kauter	Switzerland
13	Gábor Boczkó	Hungary
14	Ayman Fayez	Egypt
15	Anton Avdeev	Russia
16	Francisco Limardo	Venezuela
17	Daniel Jerent	France
18	Bas Verwijlen	Netherlands
19	Park Kyoung-doo	South Korea
20	Pavel Sukhov	Russia
21	Rubén Limardo	Venezuela
22	Jason Pryor	United States
23	Alexandre Bouzaid	Senegal
24	Anatoliy Herey	Ukraine
25	Paolo Pizzo	Italy
26	Marco Fichera	Italy
27	Maxime Brinck-Croteau	Canada
28	András Rédli	Hungary
29	Jhon Édison Rodríguez	Colombia
30	Jiao Yunlong	China
31	Jung Jin-sun	South Korea
32	Athos Schwantes	Brazil
33	Jiri Beran	Czech Republic
34	Silvio Fernández	Venezuela
35	Guilherme Melaragno	Brazil
36	Dmytro Karyuchenko	Ukraine
37	Nicolas Ferreira	Brazil
38	Abdulaziz Alshatti	Independent Olympic Athletes

References

1. "Fencing at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's épée". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
2. "Épée, Individual, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 26 March 2021.