Fencing at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's foil

The men's foil competition in fencing at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was held on 7 August at the Carioca Arena 3.[1] The medals were presented by Paul Tergat, IOC member, Kenya and Donald Anthony Jr., Executive Board Member of FIE. There were 35 competitors from 19 nations.[2] The event was won by Daniele Garozzo of Italy, the nation's ninth victory in the men's foil (matching France for most all-time) and first since 1996. The silver medalist was American Alexander Massialas, earning the United States' first medal in the event since 1960. Timur Safin of Russia took bronze.

Men's foil
at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad
Fencing at the 2016 Olympics
VenueCarioca Arena 3
Date7 August 2016
Competitors35 from 19 nations
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Daniele Garozzo  Italy
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Alexander Massialas  United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Timur Safin  Russia
← 2012
2020 →

Background

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This was the 27th appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1908 (when there was a foil display only rather than a medal event). Five of the eight quarterfinalists from 2012 returned: gold medalist Lei Sheng of China, silver medalist Alaaeldin Abouelkassem of Egypt, fifth-place finisher Andrea Cassarà of Italy, seventh-place finisher Ma Jianfei of China, and eighth-place finisher Aleksey Cheremisinov of Russia. 2008 silver medalist, 2012 top-16 finisher, and reigning world champion Yuki Ota of Japan also returned. Cheremisinov had been world champion in 2014, while American Miles Chamley-Watson had taken the title in 2013. The top-ranked fencer going into the Games was another American, Alexander Massialas.[2]

The Czech Republic made its debut in the men's foil. France and the United States each made their 25th appearance, tied for most of any nation; France had missed only the 1904 (with fencers not traveling to St. Louis) and the 1912 (boycotted due to a dispute over rules) foil competitions, while the United States had missed the inaugural 1896 competition and boycotted the 1980 Games altogether.

Qualification

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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 foil was the first event this applied to, so each nation could enter a maximum of two fencers in the event in 2008. The team foil 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 foil. 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 had already qualified a men's foil team (with the corresponding three places in individual foil), so used no spots in the individual men's foil.

Competition format

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The 1996 tournament had vastly simplified the competition format into a single-elimination bracket, with a bronze medal match. The 2016 tournament continued to use that format. 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. Standard foil rules regarding target area, striking, and priority were used.[2]

Schedule

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

Date Time Round
Sunday, 7 August 2016 Round of 64
Round of 32
Round of 16
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Bronze medal match
Final

Results

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Section 1

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Round of 64 Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarter-finals
  Yuki Ota (JPN) 13
  Guilherme Toldo (BRA) 15   Guilherme Toldo (BRA) 15
  René Pranz (AUT) 14   Guilherme Toldo (BRA) 15
  Cheung Ka Long (HKG) 10
  Cheung Ka Long (HKG) 15
  Heo Jun (KOR) 8
  Guilherme Toldo (BRA) 8
  Daniele Garozzo (ITA) 15
  Daniele Garozzo (ITA) 15
  Tarek Ayad (EGY) 8
  Daniele Garozzo (ITA) 15
  Alaaeldin Abouelkassem (EGY) 13
  Alexander Choupenitch (CZE) 8
  Alaaeldin Abouelkassem (EGY) 15

Section 2

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Round of 64 Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarter-finals
  James Davis (GBR) 15
  Mohamed Ayoub Ferjani (TUN) 7
  James Davis (GBR) 13
  Timur Safin (RUS) 15
  Aleksey Cheremisinov (RUS) 10
  Timur Safin (RUS) 15
  Timur Safin (RUS) 15
  Chen Haiwei (CHN) 7
  Chen Haiwei (CHN) 15
  Laurence Halsted (GBR) 9
  Chen Haiwei (CHN) 15
  Ma Jianfei (CHN) 12
  Ghislain Perrier (BRA) 14
  Ma Jianfei (CHN) 15

Section 3

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Round of 64 Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarter-finals
  Gerek Meinhardt (USA) 15
  Antonio Leal (VEN) 7   Maximilien van Haaster (CAN) 4
  Maximilien van Haaster (CAN) 15   Gerek Meinhardt (USA) 15
  Erwann Le Péchoux (FRA) 14
  Lei Sheng (CHN) 9
  Erwann Le Péchoux (FRA) 15
  Gerek Meinhardt (USA) 13
  Richard Kruse (GBR) 15
  Jérémy Cadot (FRA) 14
  Andrea Cassarà (ITA) 15
  Andrea Cassarà (ITA) 12
  Richard Kruse (GBR) 15
  Hamid Sintès (ALG) 4
  Richard Kruse (GBR) 15

Section 4

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Round of 64 Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarter-finals
  Giorgio Avola (ITA) 15
  Daniel Gómez (MEX) 5
  Giorgio Avola (ITA) 15
  Peter Joppich (GER) 13
  Enzo Lefort (FRA) 13
  Peter Joppich (GER) 15
  Giorgio Avola (ITA) 14
  Alexander Massialas (USA) 15
  Miles Chamley-Watson (USA) 13
  Artur Akhmatkhuzin (RUS) 15
  Artur Akhmatkhuzin (RUS) 9
  Mohamed Essam (EGY) 15   Alexander Massialas (USA) 15
  Henrique Marques (BRA) 8   Mohamed Essam (EGY) 7
  Alexander Massialas (USA) 15

Finals

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Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
 
 
 
  Daniele Garozzo (ITA)15
 
 
 
  Timur Safin (RUS)8
 
  Daniele Garozzo (ITA)15
 
 
 
  Alexander Massialas (USA)11
 
  Richard Kruse (GBR)9
 
 
  Alexander Massialas (USA)15
 
Bronze medal match
 
 
 
 
 
  Timur Safin (RUS)15
 
 
  Richard Kruse (GBR)13

Final classification

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Rank Fencer Nation
  Daniele Garozzo   Italy
  Alexander Massialas   United States
  Timur Safin   Russia
4 Richard Kruse   Great Britain
5 Gerek Meinhardt   United States
6 Giorgio Avola   Italy
7 Chen Haiwei   China
8 Guilherme Toldo   Brazil
9 Ma Jianfei   China
10 James Davis   Great Britain
11 Alaaeldin Abouelkassem   Egypt
12 Peter Joppich   Germany
13 Erwann Le Péchoux   France
14 Cheung Ka Long   Hong Kong
15 Artur Akhmatkhuzin   Russia
16 Andrea Cassara   Italy
17 Yuki Ota   Japan
18 Jeremy Cadot   France
19 Miles Chamley-Watson   United States
20 Heo Jun   South Korea
21 Sheng Lei   China
22 Laurence Halsted   Great Britain
23 Alexey Cheremisinov   Russia
24 Enzo Lefort   France
25 Tarek Ayad   Egypt
26 Alexander Choupenitch   Czech Republic
27 Daniel Gómez   Mexico
28 Hamid Sintès   Algeria
29 Mohamed Ayoub Ferjani   Tunisia
30 Ghislain Perrier   Brazil
31 Maximilien van Haaster   Canada
32 Mohamed Essam   Egypt
33 Rene Pranz   Austria
34 Henrique Marques   Brazil
35 Antonio Leal   Venezuela

References

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  1. ^ "Fencing at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's foil". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  2. ^ a b c "Foil, Individual, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 21 November 2020.