The men's sabre was one of four fencing events on the Fencing at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. The top two places were won by Hungarian fencers, who also took the gold medal in the team sabre event. Jenő Fuchs took the gold medal and Béla Zulawszky the silver. Bronze went to Bohemian Vilém Goppold von Lobsdorf. There were 76 competitors from 11 nations. Each nation could enter up to 12 fencers.Official Report, p.34.

Background

This was the fourth appearance of the event, which is the only fencing event to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The 1900 gold medalist, Georges de la Falaise of France, returned after not competing in 1904.

Belgium, Bohemia, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and South Africa each made their debut in the men's sabre. Austria made its third appearance in the event, most of any nation, having missed only the 1904 Games in St. Louis.

Competition format

The competition was held over four rounds. In each round, each pool held a round-robin, with bouts to 3 touches. European sabre rules at the time used a target area of the whole body, in contrast to above-the-waist target area provided for by the American rules of the time, used in the 1904 Games, and which became standard after World War I. Barrages were used as necessary to determine the advancing fencers. First round: 13 pools of between 4 and 8 fencers each. The 3 fencers in each pool with the fewest bouts lost advanced to the second round. Quarterfinals: 8 pools of 5 fencers each (except one had only 4 by design and one had only 4 due to a non-starter). The 2 fencers in each pool with the fewest bouts lost advanced to the semifinals. Semifinals: 2 pools of 8 fencers each. The 4 fencers in each pool with the fewest bouts lost advanced to the final. Final: 1 pool of 8 fencers.

Schedule

Date Time Round Friday, 17 July 1908 Round 1 pools A–D Saturday, 18 July 1908 14:3016:0017:30 Round 1 pools E–GRound 1 pools H–KRound 1 pools L–M Monday, 20 July 1908 11:3016:15 Quarterfinals A–DQuarterfinals E–H Thursday, 23 July 1908 10:3016:00 Semifinal ASemifinal B Friday, 24 July 1908 14:45 Final

Results

Round 1

The first round was conducted in round-robin format, to three touches. Pool sizes ranged from 4 to 8 fencers. The three contestants who had lost the fewest bouts advanced.

Pool A

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Siegfried Flesch 5 0 2 Jetze Doorman 3 2 Vlastimil Lada-Sázavský 3 2 4 Jean de Mas Latrie 2 3 5 Henri Six 1 4 Jaroslav Šourek-Tucek 1 4

Pool B

The three-way tie for the two remaining places resulted in the British fencer being eliminated.

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Otakar Lada 3 1 2 Archibald Murray 2 2 Péter Tóth 2 2 Joseph van der Voodt 2 2 5 Johannes Adam 1 3

Barrage B

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 2 Péter Tóth 1 0 Joseph van der Voodt 1 0 4 Archibald Murray 0 2

Pool C

Renaud lost both his playoff matches, eliminating him and allowing Grade and Jack to advance.

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Alfred Labouchere 4 1 2 Etienne Grade 3 2 Fritz Jack 3 2 Louis Renaud 3 2 5 Dino Diana 2 3 6 Douglas Godfree 0 5

Barrage C

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 2 Etienne Grade 1 0 Fritz Jack 1 0 4 Louis Renaud 0 2

Pool D

The playoff resulted in two losses for Lichtenfels.

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 William Marsh 3 1 2 Georges Lateux 2 2 Julius Lichtenfels 2 2 Richard Schoemaker 2 2 5 Harald Krenchel 1 3

Barrage D

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 2 Georges Lateux 1 0 Richard Schoemaker 1 0 4 Julius Lichtenfels 0 2

Pool E

The fifth pool was small, with only 4 fencers. This meant only one, Langevin, was eliminated.

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Adrianus de Jong 2 1 Alessandro Pirzio Biroli 2 1 Einar Schwartz-Nielsen 2 1 4 Georges Langevin 0 3

Pool F

Petri defeated van Tomme in the playoff for third place after having lost to the Belgian in the main pool.

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Georges de la Falaise 3 1 Jenő Szántay 3 1 3 August Petri 2 2 Antoine van Tomme 2 2 5 Jacob van Löben Sels 0 4

Barrage F

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 3 August Petri 1 0 4 Antoine van Tomme 0 1

Pool G

Badman defeated van Minden again in the playoff for third place.

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Dezső Földes 5 0 2 Sante Ceccherini 4 1 3 Robert Badman 2 3 Lion van Minden 2 3 5 Jakob Erkrath de Bary 1 4 Ismaël de Lesseps 1 4

Barrage G

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 3 Robert Badman 1 0 4 Lion van Minden 0 1

Pool H

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Marcello Bertinetti 4 1 Bertrand Marie de Lesseps 4 1 3 Béla Zulawszky 3 2 4 Robert Krünert 2 3 Charles Wilson 2 3 6 Walter Gates 0 5

Pool I

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Oszkár Gerde 4 1 Lauritz Østrup 4 1 3 Willem van Blijenburgh 3 2 4 André du Bosch 2 3 Alfred Keene 2 3 6 Joseph, Marquis de Saint Brisson 0 5

Pool J

The tenth pool was the largest, at fully twice the size of the fifth. Five of the eight fencers were eliminated. The Bohemian fencer, von Lobsdorf, defeated each of his seven opponents for a decisive first place in the pool. There was no match between Sarzano and Stohr.

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Vilém Goppold von Lobsdorf 7 0 2 Paul Anspach 5 2 Jenő Apáthy 5 2 4 Edward Brookfield 3 4 Johan van Schreven 3 4 6 Pietro Sarzano 2 4 Georg Stöhr 2 4 8 Jean Mikorski 2 5

Pool K

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Jenő Fuchs 5 0 2 Gustaaf van Hulstijn 4 1 3 Vilém Tvrzský 3 2 4 Luigi Pinelli 2 3 5 Ernst Moldenhauer 1 4 6 Lockhart Leith 0 5

Pool L

Chapuis was eliminated in the three-way playoff for second and third.

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 George van Rossem 4 1 2 Charles Notley 3 2 Bedrich Schejbal 3 2 Frédéric Chapuis 3 2 5 Alexandre Simonson 2 3 6 Albert Naumann 0 5

Barrage L

Rank Fencer Nation Notes 2 C. Barry Notley Bedrich Schejbal 4 Louis Chapuis

Pool M

The final pool was one of the larger pools, with 7 fencers.

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Lajos Werkner 5 1 2 Riccardo Nowak 4 2 Emil Schön 4 2 4 Marc Perrodon 3 3 5 Jan de Beaufort 2 4 František Dušek 2 4 7 Alfred Chalke 1 5

Quarterfinals

There were eight second round pools, ranging in size from 4 to 5.

Quarterfinal 1

Notley's pair of victories in the playoff gave him second in the pool, allowing him to advance.

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Jenő Fuchs 3 1 2 Etienne Grade 2 2 C. Barry Notley 2 2 Richard Schoemaker 2 2 5 Georges Lateux 1 3

Barrage 1

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 2 C. Barry Notley 2 0 3 Etienne Grade 0 1 Richard Schoemaker 0 1

Quarterfinal 2

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Lajos Werkner 4 0 2 Dezső Földes 3 1 3 George van Rossem 2 2 4 Robert Badman 1 3 5 Fritz Jack 1 3

Quarterfinal 3

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Vilém Goppold von Lobsdorf 3 1 Joseph van der Voodt 3 1 3 William Marsh 2 2 4 Adrianus de Jong 1 3 Riccardo Nowak 1 3

Quarterfinal 4

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Bertrand Marie de Lesseps 3 0 2 Béla Zulawszky 2 1 3 Bedrich Schejbal 1 2 4 Vilém Tvrzský 0 3 — Gustaaf van Hulstijn

Quarterfinal 5

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Oszkar Gerde 4 0 2 Sante Ceccherini 3 1 3 Otakar Lada 2 2 4 Emil Schön 1 3 5 Paul Anspach 0 4

Quarterfinal 6

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Péter Tóth 4 0 2 Jenő Szántay 3 1 3 Willem van Blijenburgh 1 3 Siegfried Flesch 1 3 Alfred Labouchere 1 3

Quarterfinal 7

Doorman, who had lost to Petri in the main pool, defeated the German in the playoff for second place.

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Marcello Bertinetti 4 0 2 Jetze Doorman 2 2 August Petri 2 2 4 Vlastimil Lada-Sázavský 1 3 Alessandro Pirzio Biroli 1 3

Barrage 7

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 2 Jetze Doorman 1 0 3 August Petri 0 1

Quarterfinal 8

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Jenő Apáthy 2 1 Georges de la Falaise 2 1 Lauritz Østrup 2 1 4 Einar Schwartz-Nielsen 0 3

Barrage 8

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Georges de la Falaise 2 0 2 Lauritz Østrup 1 1 3 Jenő Apáthy 0 2

Semifinals

There were two semifinals, each of 8 fencers. The top 4 in each advanced to the final.

Semifinal 1

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Jenő Fuchs 6 1 2 Lajos Werkner 5 2 3 Georges de la Falaise 4 3 Jenő Szántay 4 3 5 Marcello Bertinetti 3 4 Dezső Földes 3 4 7 C. Barry Notley 2 5 8 Bertrand Marie de Lesseps 1 6

Semifinal 2

Four fencers tied at 5-2 records, all advancing to the finals. Ceccherini gave up after his first four bouts, giving Tóth, van der Voodt, and Doorman wins by walkover.

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Notes 1 Jetze Doorman 5 2 Vilém Goppold von Lobsdorf 5 2 Péter Tóth 5 2 Béla Zulawszky 5 2 5 Oszkár Gerde 4 3 6 Lauritz Østrup 3 4 7 Joseph van der Voodt 1 6 8 Sante Ceccherini 0 7

Final

Fuchs and de Lobsdorf did not finish within the time limit, resulting in a loss for both of them. The playoff match for the gold medal was won by Fuchs, with the one-touch bout decided by a parry and riposte to his fellow Hungarian's head.

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses 1 Jenő Fuchs 6 1 Béla Zulawszky 6 1 Vilém Goppold von Lobsdorf 4 3 4 Jenő Szántay 3 4 5 Péter Tóth 3 4 6 Lajos Werkner 2 5 7 Jetze Doorman 1 6 Georges de la Falaise 1 6

Barrage

Rank Fencer Nation Wins Losses Jenő Fuchs 1 0 Béla Zulawszky 0 1

Notes

Sources

De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Fencing 1908". Accessed 1 May 2006. Available electronically at .