Fencing at the 1932 Summer Olympics – Men's épée

The men's épée was one of seven fencing events on the fencing at the 1932 Summer Olympics programme. It was the eighth appearance of the event. The competition was held from 8 August 1932 to 9 August 1932. 28 fencers from 12 nations competed, with three others entered but not starting.[1][2] A maximum of three fencers per nation could compete.[3] The event was won by Giancarlo Cornaggia-Medici of Italy, with his countryman Carlo Agostoni taking bronze. They were the first medals for Italy in the men's individual épée. France reached the podium for the fourth consecutive Games in the event with Georges Buchard's silver. Buchard was the third man to win multiple medals in the event, repeating his second-place finish from 1928.

Men's épée
at the Games of the X Olympiad
Gold medalist Giancarlo Cornaggia-Medici
Venue160th Regiment State Armory
Dates8–9 August
Competitors28 from 12 nations
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Giancarlo Cornaggia-Medici
 Italy
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Georges Buchard
 France
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Carlo Agostoni
 Italy
← 1928
1936 →

Background

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This was the eighth 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.[4]

Two of the 10 finalists from the 1928 Games returned: silver medalist (and 1924 finalist) Georges Buchard of France and bronze medalist George Calnan of the United States. Buchard was the reigning (1931) World Champion; he had also won in 1927 and would win again in 1933. He and fellow French fencer Philippe Cattiau, the 1929 and 1930 World Champion, were the favorites in the event.[4]

For the first time, no nations made their debut in the event. Belgium and the United States each appeared for the seventh time, tied for most among nations.

Competition format

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The competition format continued the pool play round-robin from prior years, but increased the number of touches to win a bout to 3. With fewer fencers than in prior Games, the number of rounds was reduced from four to three. A point system was used, with 2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss.[5] The total number of touches received was used as the first tie-breaker. Touches scored was used as the second in the final.[6] It also was apparently used in the earlier rounds for the most part, though the official placing for 8th and 9th in round 1 pool 1 is inconsistent.

  • Quarterfinals: 3 pools of between 9 and 11 fencers each. The top 7 fencers in the first two pools (each scheduled to have 11 fencers) and the top 6 fencers in the third pool (scheduled to have 9 fencers) advanced to the semifinals.
  • Semifinals: 2 pools of 10 fencers each. The top 6 fencers in each pool advanced to the final.
  • Final: 1 pool of 12 fencers.

Schedule

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Date Time Round
Monday, 8 August 1932 9:00
13:00
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Tuesday, 9 August 1932 13:00 Final

Results

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Quarterfinals

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The top 7 finishers in pools 1 and 2 and the top 6 finishers in pool 3 advanced to the semifinals.[5]

Quarterfinal 1

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It is unclear why Markus is ranked ahead of Corbin; being equal on points and touches received, Corbin's touches scored should have ranked him higher.

Rank Fencer Nation Points TS TR Notes
1 Saverio Ragno   Italy 16 24 10 Q
2 Georges Buchard   France 12 21 13 Q
3 Balthazar De Beukelaer   Belgium 10 19 14 Q
4 Sven Thofelt   Sweden 8 17 15 Q
5 Aage Leidersdorff   Denmark 7 18 20 Q
6 Eduardo Prieto   Mexico 7 17 20 Q
7 Doris de Jong   Netherlands 4 15 20 Q
8 Bertram Markus   Canada 4 10 21
9 Harold Corbin   United States 4 13 21
Erwin Casmir   Germany DNS
Somfai   Hungary DNS

Quarterfinal 2

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5 bouts in the round-robin were skipped (Agostini-Schmetz, Agostini-Saucedo, Saucedo-de Graffenried, Poplimont-Calnan, and Poplimont-Petneházy).[5]

The Official Report lists the bout between Farrell and Delgadillo as 2–2, but Sports-Reference reports a 3–2 Farrell win. The latter is consistent with Farrell having 7 points, as reported in both sources, and Delgadillo having 4, as listed in Sports-Reference. The Official Report lists Delgadillo as having 6 points, which is inconsistent with either a tie or loss. Both sources, however, list Delgadillo as having received 26 touches; if the result of the bout was 3–2 for Farrell, this number should be 27.[5][1]

The Official Report does not explain why Lindman advanced to the semifinals rather than Farrell.

Rank Fencer Nation Points TS TR Notes
1 Carlo Agostoni   Italy 16 24 6 Q
2 Bernard Schmetz   France 15 24 11 Q
3 Raúl Saucedo   Argentina 13 22 11 Q
4 André Poplimont   Belgium 13 22 15 Q
5 George Calnan   United States 12 24 17 Q
6 Paul de Graffenried   Switzerland 8 16 21 Q
7 Patrick Farrell   Canada 7 14 23
8 Bo Lindman   Sweden 6 21 22 Q
9 Erik Kofoed-Hansen   Denmark 6 16 22
10 Gerónimo Delgadillo   Mexico 4 16 27
11 Imre Petneházy   Hungary 0 3 27

Quarterfinal 3

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Rank Fencer Nation Points TS TR Notes
1 Max Janlet   Belgium 10 18 9 Q
2 Philippe Cattiau   France 10 18 14 Q
3 Giancarlo Cornaggia-Medici   Italy 9 18 12 Q
4 Gustave Heiss   United States 8 15 11 Q
5 Tibor Benkő   Hungary 6 12 14 Q
6 Stig Lindström   Sweden 5 14 19 Q
7 Eduardo Prieto Souza   Mexico 4 11 18
Ernest Dalton   Canada 4 11 18
Ivan Osiier   Denmark DNS

Semifinals

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The top six finishers in each semifinal advanced to the final.[7]

Semifinal 1

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Two bouts were not played: De Beukelaer-de Jong and Cattiau-Saucedo.

Both the Official Report and Sports-Reference credit De Beukelaer with 10 points; however, the head-to-head data shown by each has him winning 6 bouts and losing 2, which should result in 12 points.[7][1]

Rank Fencer Nation Points TS TR Notes
1 Saverio Ragno   Italy 13 24 16 Q
2 Georges Buchard   France 12 20 16 Q
3 Sven Thofelt   Sweden 10 20 12 Q
4 Balthazar De Beukelaer   Belgium 10 21 14 Q
5 Philippe Cattiau   France 10 18 17 Q
6 Raúl Saucedo   Argentina 9 20 17 Q
7 Gustave Heiss   United States 8 20 19
8 Eduardo Prieto   Mexico 4 15 22
9 Doris de Jong   Netherlands 3 12 23
10 Tibor Benkő   Hungary 3 12 26

Semifinal 2

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Rank Fencer Nation Points TS TR Notes
1 Bernard Schmetz   France 14 22 13 Q
2 Giancarlo Cornaggia-Medici   Italy 12 22 17 Q
3 George Calnan   United States 11 24 17 Q
4 Paul de Graffenried   Switzerland 11 20 19 Q
5 Carlo Agostoni   Italy 10 20 14 Q
6 Stig Lindström   Sweden 10 22 17 Q
7 Max Janlet   Belgium 10 18 19
8 André Poplimont   Belgium 6 13 21
9 Bo Lindman   Sweden 4 15 24
10 Aage Leidersdorff   Denmark 2 10 25

Final

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Rank Fencer Nation Points TS TR
  Giancarlo Cornaggia-Medici   Italy 18 31 18
  Georges Buchard   France 16 27 17
  Carlo Agostoni   Italy 15 30 17
4 Saverio Ragno   Italy 14 27 20
5 Bernard Schmetz   France 14 26 22
6 Philippe Cattiau   France 13 23 22
7 George Calnan   United States 13 22 22
8 Balthazar De Beukelaer   Belgium 8 19 25
9 Sven Thofelt   Sweden 8 21 27
10 Raúl Saucedo   Argentina 7 18 28
11 Paul de Graffenried   Switzerland 4 17 29
12 Stig Lindström   Sweden 4 15 29

Results summary

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Rank Fencer Nation Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Points
Points Rank Points Rank
  Giancarlo Cornaggia-Medici   Italy 9 3rd 12 2nd 18
  Georges Buchard   France 12 2nd 12 2nd 16
  Carlo Agostoni   Italy 16 1st 10 5th 15
4 Saverio Ragno   Italy 16 1st 13 1st 14
5 Bernard Schmetz   France 15 2nd 14 1st 14
6 Philippe Cattiau   France 10 2nd 10 5th 13
7 George Calnan   United States 12 5th 11 3rd 13
8 Balthazar De Beukelaer   Belgium 10 3rd 10 4th 8
9 Sven Thofelt   Sweden 8 4th 10 3rd 8
10 Raúl Saucedo   Argentina 13 3rd 9 6th 7
11 Paul de Graffenried   Switzerland 8 6th 11 4th 4
12 Stig Lindström   Sweden 5 6th 10 6th 4
13 Max Janlet   Belgium 10 1st 10 7th Did not advance
Gustave Heiss   United States 8 4th 8 7th
15 André Poplimont   Belgium 13 4th 6 8th
Eduardo Prieto   Mexico 7 6th 4 8th
17 Bo Lindman   Sweden 6 8th 4 9th
Doris de Jong   Netherlands 4 7th 3 9th
19 Tibor Benkő   Hungary 6 5th 3 10th
Aage Leidersdorff   Denmark 7 5th 2 10th
21 Patrick Farrell   Canada 7 7th Did not advance
Ernest Dalton   Canada 4 7th
Eduardo Prieto Souza   Mexico 4 7th
24 Bertram Markus   Canada 4 8th
25 Erik Kofoed-Hansen   Denmark 6 9th
Harold Corbin   United States 4 9th
27 Gerónimo Delgadillo   Mexico 4 10th
28 Imre Petneházy   Hungary 0 11th
Erwin Casmir   Germany DNS
Ivan Osiier   Denmark DNS
Somfai   Hungary DNS

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Fencing: 1932 Olympic Results - Men's épée". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  2. ^ Official Olympic Report Archived 2 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine, la84.org. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  3. ^ Official Report, p. 492.
  4. ^ a b "Épée, Individual, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d Official Report, p. 506
  6. ^ Official Report, p. 508
  7. ^ a b Official Report, p. 507