PROFILPELAJAR.COM

Men's sabre
at the Games of the IV Olympiad
Men's sabre; at the Games of the IV Olympiad
	Hungarian fencers Lajos Werkner, Oszkar Gerde, Jenö Fuchs, and Péter Tóth
Venue	Franco-British Exhibition fencing grounds
Dates	July 17–24
Competitors	76 from 11 nations
Medalists
	← 1904 1912 →

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.^[1]

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.^[2]

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	14:30 16:00 17:30	Round 1 pools E–G Round 1 pools H–K Round 1 pools L–M
Monday, 20 July 1908	11:30 16:15	Quarterfinals A–D Quarterfinals E–H
Thursday, 23 July 1908	10:30 16:00	Semifinal A Semifinal 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	Austria	5	0	Q
2	Jetze Doorman	Netherlands	3	2	Q
2	Vlastimil Lada-Sázavský	Bohemia	3	2	Q
4	Jean de Mas Latrie	France	2	3
5	Henri Six	Belgium	1	4
5	Jaroslav Šourek-Tucek	Bohemia	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	Bohemia	3	1	Q
2	Archibald Murray	Great Britain	2	2	B
	Péter Tóth	Hungary	2	2	B
	Joseph van der Voodt	Belgium	2	2	B
5	Johannes Adam	Germany	1	3

Barrage B

Rank	Fencer	Nation	Wins	Losses	Notes
2	Péter Tóth	Hungary	1	0	Q
2	Joseph van der Voodt	Belgium	1	0	Q
4	Archibald Murray	Great Britain	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	Netherlands	4	1	Q
2	Etienne Grade	Belgium	3	2	B
	Fritz Jack	Germany	3	2	B
	Louis Renaud	France	3	2	B
5	Dino Diana	Italy	2	3
6	Douglas Godfree	Great Britain	0	5

Barrage C

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

Pool D

The playoff resulted in two losses for Lichtenfels.

Rank	Fencer	Nation	Wins	Losses	Notes
1	William Marsh	Great Britain	3	1	Q
2	Georges Lateux	France	2	2	B
	Julius Lichtenfels	Germany	2	2	B
	Richard Schoemaker	Netherlands	2	2	B
5	Harald Krenchel	Denmark	1	3

Barrage D

Rank	Fencer	Nation	Wins	Losses	Notes
2	Georges Lateux	France	1	0	Q
2	Richard Schoemaker	Netherlands	1	0	Q
4	Julius Lichtenfels	Germany	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	Netherlands	2	1	Q
	Alessandro Pirzio Biroli	Italy	2	1	Q
	Einar Schwartz-Nielsen	Denmark	2	1	Q
4	Georges Langevin	France	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	France	3	1	Q
1	Jenő Szántay	Hungary	3	1	Q
3	August Petri	Germany	2	2	B
3	Antoine van Tomme	Belgium	2	2	B
5	Jacob van Löben Sels	Netherlands	0	4

Barrage F

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

Pool G

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

Rank	Fencer	Nation	Wins	Losses	Notes
1	Dezső Földes	Hungary	5	0	Q
2	Sante Ceccherini	Italy	4	1	Q
3	Robert Badman	Great Britain	2	3	B
3	Lion van Minden	Netherlands	2	3	B
5	Jakob Erkrath de Bary	Germany	1	4
5	Ismaël de Lesseps	France	1	4

Barrage G

Rank	Fencer	Nation	Wins	Losses	Notes
3	Robert Badman	Great Britain	1	0	Q
4	Lion van Minden	Netherlands	0	1

Pool H

Rank	Fencer	Nation	Wins	Losses	Notes
1	Marcello Bertinetti	Italy	4	1	Q
1	Bertrand Marie de Lesseps	France	4	1	Q
3	Béla Zulawszky	Hungary	3	2	Q
4	Robert Krünert	Germany	2	3
4	Charles Wilson	Great Britain	2	3
6	Walter Gates	South Africa	0	5

Pool I

Rank	Fencer	Nation	Wins	Losses	Notes
1	Oszkár Gerde	Hungary	4	1	Q
1	Lauritz Østrup	Denmark	4	1	Q
3	Willem van Blijenburgh	Netherlands	3	2	Q
4	André du Bosch	Belgium	2	3
4	Alfred Keene	Great Britain	2	3
6	Joseph, Marquis de Saint Brisson	France	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	Bohemia	7	0	Q
2	Paul Anspach	Belgium	5	2	Q
2	Jenő Apáthy	Hungary	5	2	Q
4	Edward Brookfield	Great Britain	3	4
4	Johan van Schreven	Netherlands	3	4
6	Pietro Sarzano	Italy	2	4
6	Georg Stöhr	Germany	2	4
8	Jean Mikorski	France	2	5

Pool K

Rank	Fencer	Nation	Wins	Losses	Notes
1	Jenő Fuchs	Hungary	5	0	Q
2	Gustaaf van Hulstijn	Netherlands	4	1	Q
3	Vilém Tvrzský	Bohemia	3	2	Q
4	Luigi Pinelli	Italy	2	3
5	Ernst Moldenhauer	Germany	1	4
6	Lockhart Leith	Great Britain	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	Netherlands	4	1	Q
2	C. Barry Notley	Great Britain	3	2	B
	Bedrich Schejbal	Bohemia	3	2	B
	Frédéric Chapuis	France	3	2	B
5	Alexandre Simonson	Belgium	2	3
6	Albert Naumann	Germany	0	5

Barrage L

Rank	Fencer	Nation	Notes
2	C. Barry Notley	Great Britain	Q
2	Bedrich Schejbal	Bohemia	Q
4	Louis Chapuis	France

Pool M

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

Rank	Fencer	Nation	Wins	Losses	Notes
1	Lajos Werkner	Hungary	5	1	Q
2	Riccardo Nowak	Italy	4	2	Q
2	Emil Schön	Germany	4	2	Q
4	Marc Perrodon	France	3	3
5	Jan de Beaufort	Netherlands	2	4
5	František Dušek^[3]	Bohemia	2	4
7	Alfred Chalke	Great Britain	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	Hungary	3	1	Q
2	Etienne Grade	Belgium	2	2	B
	C. Barry Notley	Great Britain	2	2	B
	Richard Schoemaker	Netherlands	2	2	B
5	Georges Lateux	France	1	3

Barrage 1

Rank	Fencer	Nation	Wins	Losses	Notes
2	C. Barry Notley	Great Britain	2	0	Q
3	Etienne Grade	Belgium	0	1
3	Richard Schoemaker	Netherlands	0	1

Quarterfinal 2

Rank	Fencer	Nation	Wins	Losses	Notes
1	Lajos Werkner	Hungary	4	0	Q
2	Dezső Földes	Hungary	3	1	Q
3	George van Rossem	Netherlands	2	2
4	Robert Badman	Great Britain	1	3
5	Fritz Jack	Germany	1	3

Quarterfinal 3

Rank	Fencer	Nation	Wins	Losses	Notes
1	Vilém Goppold von Lobsdorf	Bohemia	3	1	Q
1	Joseph van der Voodt	Belgium	3	1	Q
3	William Marsh	Great Britain	2	2
4	Adrianus de Jong	Netherlands	1	3
4	Riccardo Nowak	Italy	1	3

Quarterfinal 4

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

Quarterfinal 5

Rank	Fencer	Nation	Wins	Losses	Notes
1	Oszkar Gerde	Hungary	4	0	Q
2	Sante Ceccherini	Italy	3	1	Q
3	Otakar Lada	Bohemia	2	2
4	Emil Schön	Germany	1	3
5	Paul Anspach	Belgium	0	4

Quarterfinal 6

Rank	Fencer	Nation	Wins	Losses	Notes
1	Péter Tóth	Hungary	4	0	Q
2	Jenő Szántay	Hungary	3	1	Q
3	Willem van Blijenburgh	Netherlands	1	3
	Siegfried Flesch	Austria	1	3
	Alfred Labouchere	Netherlands	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	Italy	4	0	Q
2	Jetze Doorman	Netherlands	2	2	B
2	August Petri	Germany	2	2	B
4	Vlastimil Lada-Sázavský	Bohemia	1	3
4	Alessandro Pirzio Biroli	Italy	1	3

Barrage 7

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

Quarterfinal 8

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

Barrage 8

Rank	Fencer	Nation	Wins	Losses	Notes
1	Georges de la Falaise	France	2	0	Q
2	Lauritz Østrup	Denmark	1	1	Q
3	Jenő Apáthy	Hungary	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	Hungary	6	1	Q
2	Lajos Werkner	Hungary	5	2	Q
3	Georges de la Falaise	France	4	3	Q
3	Jenő Szántay	Hungary	4	3	Q
5	Marcello Bertinetti	Italy	3	4
5	Dezső Földes	Hungary	3	4
7	C. Barry Notley	Great Britain	2	5
8	Bertrand Marie de Lesseps	France	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	Netherlands	5	2	Q
	Vilém Goppold von Lobsdorf	Bohemia	5	2	Q
	Péter Tóth	Hungary	5	2	Q
	Béla Zulawszky	Hungary	5	2	Q
5	Oszkár Gerde	Hungary	4	3
6	Lauritz Østrup	Denmark	3	4
7	Joseph van der Voodt	Belgium	1	6
8	Sante Ceccherini	Italy	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	Hungary	6	1
1	Béla Zulawszky	Hungary	6	1
	Vilém Goppold von Lobsdorf	Bohemia	4	3
4	Jenő Szántay	Hungary	3	4
5	Péter Tóth	Hungary	3	4
6	Lajos Werkner	Hungary	2	5
7	Jetze Doorman	Netherlands	1	6
7	Georges de la Falaise	France	1	6

Barrage

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

Notes

^ Official Report, p.34.
^ "Sabre, Individual, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
^ "Interia - Polska i świat: informacje, sport, gwiazdy". www.interia.pl.

Sources

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 1 May 2006. Available electronically at [1] Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine.