Ralph Cooperman

Ralph Cooperman
Personal information
Full nameArnold Ralph Cooperman[1]
Born(1927-11-16)16 November 1927
Stoke Newington, London, England
Died22 March 2009(2009-03-22) (aged 81)
London, England
Height5-8.5 (174 cm)
Weight165 lb (75 kg)
Sport
CountryUnited Kingdom
SportFencing
Event(s)Foil and sabre
Medal record
Fencing
Representing  England
British Empire & Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 1954 Vancouver foil team
Silver medal – second place 1954 Vancouver sabre individual
Silver medal – second place 1954 Vancouver sabre team
Gold medal – first place 1958 Cardiff sabre team
Silver medal – second place 1958 Cardiff sabre individual
Gold medal – first place 1962 Perth foil team
Gold medal – first place 1962 Perth sabre individual
Gold medal – first place 1962 Perth sabre team
Bronze medal – third place 1962 Perth foil individual
Gold medal – first place 1966 Kingston sabre individual
Gold medal – first place 1966 Kingston sabre team

Arnold Ralph Cooperman (16 November 1927 – 22 March 2009) was a British three-time Olympic foil and sabre fencer.

Personal life

Cooperman was born in Stoke Newington, England, and was Jewish.[2][1]

Fencing career

He won the British junior championships in foil and sabre in 1950 and 1951, and was a three times British fencing champion, winning the sabre title at the British Fencing Championships in 1954, 1960 and 1961.[3][1][2]

Cooperman was a medalist at the 1950 Maccabiah Games, the 1953 Maccabiah Games, and the 1969 Maccabiah Games.[2][1][4] He competed in the world championships in 1953.[1]

He competed on behalf of Great Britain in foil and sabre at the 1956 in Melbourne, and in Rome in the 1960 Summer Olympics and Tokyo in the 1964 Summer Olympics.[5][1]

He represented England and won a gold medal and two silver medals in the foil and sabre respectively at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, Canada.[6][7]

At the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games won a gold and silver in the sabre events and four years later at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games he won triple gold and a bronze medal in the foil (behind teammate Allan Jay).[1] He won his 11th medal in total and 6th and 7th gold medals in both sabre and team sabre at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Raz, Yonit. "Ralph Cooperman – A distinguished Jewish fencer 1927-2009". Esra Magazine. No. 150. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Arnold, A. J. (30 July 1954). "Eight Jewish Athletes at BFG". The Canadian Jewish Chronicle. p. 15 – via Google News.
  3. ^ "British Champions" (PDF). British Fencing. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  4. ^ "In Memoriam". Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Ralph Cooperman Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  6. ^ a b "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  7. ^ "1954 Athletes". Team England. Retrieved 15 November 2023.