The men's épée was one of four fencing events on the Fencing at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held from 17 to 24 July 1908 at the Franco-British Exhibition fencing grounds.[1] There were 85 competitors from 13 nations.[1] Each nation could enter up to 12 fencers.[2] The medals were swept by the French fencers, who also took the gold medal in the team épée event. Gaston Alibert was the gold medalist, with Alexandre Lippmann taking silver and Eugene Olivier bronze. Officially, it was the second consecutive medal sweep in the event, though two of the three "Cuban" fencers who medaled in 1904 were actually American.
Background
This was the third 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.[1]
None of the five fencers from 1904 returned.
Bohemia, Canada, Denmark, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, and Sweden each made their debut in the event. Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, and Italy each appeared for the second time, matching Cuba and the United States (both absent for the first time) 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. Barrages were used as necessary to determine the advancing fencers.
First round: 13 pools of between 5 and 8 fencers each. The 3 fencers in each pool with the fewest touches against advanced to the second round.
Second round: 8 pools of 5 fencers each (except one had only 4). The 2 fencers in each pool with the fewest touches against advanced to the semifinals.
Semifinals: 2 pools of 8 fencers each. The 4 fencers in each pool with the fewest touches against advanced to the final.
Final: 1 pool of 8 fencers.
Schedule
Date
Time
Round
Friday, 17 July 1908
Round 1 pools A–H
Saturday, 18 July 1908
10:30 14:30
Round 1 pools I–L Round 1 pool M
Monday, 20 July 1908
10:30 17:15
Quarterfinals 1–4 Quarterfinals 5–8
Thursday, 23 July 1908
10:30 16:00
Semifinal 1 Semifinal 2
Friday, 24 July 1908
14:45
Final
Results
First round
The first round was conducted in round-robin format, to one touch. Pool sizes ranged from 5 to 8 fencers. Double-touches counted against both fencers. The three contestants who had been struck the fewest times advanced.
Pool A
Fildes and von Rosen had a double-touch, as did Stöhr and Fildes.
The fourth pool had 8 fencers. Berger was clearly the best of the crowd, going untouched in his seven bouts. When five different fencers tied for second place at 4 touches against apiece, a playoff round-robin was held. The first playoff eliminated only one fencer, with the remaining four again tying and forcing a second playoff. That round resulted in Holt and Tvrzský tying at 1 touch apiece, eliminating the other two fencers.
Bergsland was hit three times, finishing sixth overall in the pool while the other four fencers in the playoff each received two hits to advance to a second playoff.
Holt and Tvrzský tied for an overall second-place finish in the pool with one touch against apiece (Tvrzský won the bout between the two, but was himself hit by Diana). Becker and Diana placed fourth.
The final resulted in Alibert taking the championship after again hitting all opponents, though he suffered another pair of double-touches. There was a three-way tie for second place between two Frenchman and Montgomerie of the British team.
^ abThe Official Report lists von Rosen's hits against as "3", but shows him being hit by Carlberg, Gravier, and Østrup as well as scoring a double-touch against Fildes for a total of 4 hits against.
Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association.
De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Fencing 1908". Accessed 29 April 2006. Available electronically at [1]Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
