Fencing at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's sabre

Men's sabre
at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad
Fencing Hall at the Olympic Green Convention Centre
VenueOlympic Green Convention Centre
Date12 August 2008
Competitors40 from 21 nations
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Zhong Man  China
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Nicolas Lopez  France
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Mihai Covaliu  Romania
← 2004
2012 →

The men's sabre fencing competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing took place on August 12 at the Olympic Green Convention Centre. There were 40 competitors from 21 nations.[1] The event was won by Zhong Man of China, the nation's first medal in the men's sabre. Nicolas Lopez's silver put France back on the podium after a one-Games absence. Mihai Covaliu of Romania became the 13th man to win multiple medals in the event, adding a bronze to his 2000 gold medal.

Background

[edit]

This was the 26th appearance of the event, which is the only fencing event to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Five of the quarterfinalists from 2004 returned: gold medalist Aldo Montano of Italy, silver medalist Zsolt Nemcsik of Hungary, bronze medalist Dmitry Lapkes of Belarus, sixth-place finisher (and 1996 gold medalist) Stanislav Pozdnyakov of Russia, and seventh-place finisher (and 2000 gold medalist) Mihai Covaliu of Romania. Since the last Games, Covaliu had won the 2005 world championship and Pozdnyakov had added two more world championships (2006 and 2007) to his resume (1997, 2001, and 2002 worlds along with the 1996 Olympic gold). Pozdnyakov was favored once again, though he had been upset early in both the 2000 and 2004 Games.[1]

Burkina Faso and Senegal each made their debut in the men's sabre. Italy made its 24th appearance in the event, most of any nation, having missed the inaugural 1896 event and the 1904 Games.

Qualification

[edit]

Nations had been limited to three fencers each since 1928. 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 to which this applied to, so the 2008 individual sabre competition continued to allow three fencers per nation.

There were 39 dedicated quota spots for men's sabre. The 24 fencers from the 8 teams qualified for the team event were all automatically qualified for the individual event. Next, the top 3 men in the FIE Individual Ranking received spots. After that, 7 more men were selected from the ranking based on continents: 2 from Europe, 2 from the Americas, 2 from Asia/Oceania, and 1 from Africa; each nation could only earn one spot from this continental ranking, but it could be added to any spots from the world ranking (up to three total). Finally, five spots were allocated by continental qualifying events: 2 from Europe, 1 from the Americas, 1 from Asia/Oceania, and 1 from Africa. Nations could only earn one spot from these events and only if they had no fencer qualified through rankings.

Additionally, there were 8 host/invitational spots that could be spread throughout the various fencing events. China used only 2 of those places to max out its representation in all events, so 6 spots were assigned by Tripartite Commission invitation. One was used in the men's sabre (for Julien Ouedraogo of Burkina Faso).

Competition format

[edit]

The sabre competition consisted of a five-round single-elimination bracket with a bronze medal match between the two semifinal losers. 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.

Schedule

[edit]

All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8)

Date Time Round
Tuesday, 12 August 2008 Round of 32
Round of 16
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals

Results

[edit]

Section 1

[edit]
First Round Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals
1  Luigi Tarantino (ITA) 15
33  Renzo Agresta (BRA) 15 33  Renzo Agresta (BRA) 8
32  Mahmoud Samir (EGY) 10 1  Luigi Tarantino (ITA) 15
16  Boris Sanson (FRA) 7
17  Tim Morehouse (USA) 12
16  Boris Sanson (FRA) 15
1  Luigi Tarantino (ITA) 13
9  Zhong Man (CHN) 15
9  Zhong Man (CHN) 15
24  Wiradech Kothny (THA) 7
9  Zhong Man (CHN) 15
25  Nikolay Kovalev (RUS) 15 8  Jaime Martí (ESP) 14
40  Alex O'Connell (GBR) 14 25  Nikolay Kovalev (RUS) 12
8  Jaime Martí (ESP) 15

Section 2

[edit]
First Round Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals
5  Keeth Smart (USA) 15
37  Abdoulaye Thiam (SEN) 10 28  Jason Rogers (USA) 3
28  Jason Rogers (USA) 15 5  Keeth Smart (USA) 15
21  Áron Szilágyi (HUN) 10
21  Áron Szilágyi (HUN) 15
12  Tamás Decsi (HUN) 9
5  Keeth Smart (USA) 13
20  Julien Pillet (FRA) 15
13  Wang Jingzhi (CHN) 14
20  Julien Pillet (FRA) 15
20  Julien Pillet (FRA) 15
29  Mamadou Keita (SEN) 15 4  Rareș Dumitrescu (ROU) 13
36  Satoshi Ogawa (JPN) 14 29  Mamadou Keita (SEN) 7
4  Rareș Dumitrescu (ROU) 15

Section 3

[edit]
First Round Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals
3  Aldo Montano (ITA) 15
35  Gamal Fathy (EGY) 8 30  Philippe Beaudry (CAN) 4
30  Philippe Beaudry (CAN) 15 3  Aldo Montano (ITA) 14
15  Jorge Pina (ESP) 15
19  Diego Occhiuzzi (ITA) 9
14  Jorge Pina (ESP) 15
15  Jorge Pina (ESP) 10
27  Nicolas Lopez (FRA) 15
11  Oh Eun-seok (KOR) 15
22  Dmitri Lapkes (BLR) 8
11  Oh Eun-seok (KOR) 11
27  Nicolas Lopez (FRA) 15 27  Nicolas Lopez (FRA) 15
38  Julien Ouedraogo (BUR) 6 27  Nicolas Lopez (FRA) 15
6  Stanislav Pozdnyakov (RUS) 8

Section 4

[edit]
First Round Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals
7  Mihai Covaliu (ROU) 15
39  Shadi Talaat (EGY) 7 26  Valery Pryiemka (BLR) 9
26  Valery Pryiemka (BLR) 15 7  Mihai Covaliu (ROU) 15
23  Zhou Hanming (CHN) 12
23  Zhou Hanming (CHN) 15
10  Zsolt Nemcsik (HUN) 13
7  Mihai Covaliu (ROU) 15
18  Aliaksandr Buikevich (BLR) 13
15  Aleksey Yakimenko (RUS) 9
18  Aliaksandr Buikevich (BLR) 15
18  Aliaksandr Buikevich (BLR) 15
31  Carlos Bravo (VEN) 10 2  Nicolas Limbach (GER) 14
34  Marcin Koniusz (POL) 15 34  Marcin Koniusz (POL) 7
2  Nicolas Limbach (GER) 15

Finals

[edit]
 
SemifinalsFinal
 
      
 
 
 
 
 Zhong Man (CHN) 15
 
 
 
 Julien Pillet (FRA) 12
 
 Zhong Man (CHN) 15
 
 
 
 Nicolas Lopez (FRA) 9
 
 Nicolas Lopez (FRA) 15
 
 
 Mihai Covaliu (ROU) 13
 
Bronze medal match
 
 
 
 
 
 Julien Pillet (FRA) 11
 
 
 Mihai Covaliu (ROU) 15

Final classification

[edit]
Rank Fencer Nation
1st place, gold medalist(s) Man Zhong  China
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Nicolas Lopez  France
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Mihai Covaliu  Romania
4 Julien Pillet  France
5 Luigi Tarantino  Italy
6 Keeth Smart  United States
7 Jorge Pina  Spain
8 Aliaksandr Buikevich  Belarus
9 Nicolas Limbach  Germany
10 Aldo Montano  Italy
11 Rareș Dumitrescu  Romania
12 Jaime Martí  Spain
13 Eun-seok Oh  South Korea
14 Boris Sanson  France
15 Áron Szilágyi  Hungary
16 Hanming Zhou  China
17 Stanislav Pozdnyakov  Russia
18 Zsolt Nemcsik  Hungary
19 Tamás Decsi  Hungary
20 Jingzhi Wang  China
21 Aleksey Yakimenko  Russia
22 Tim Morehouse  United States
23 Diego Occhiuzzi  Italy
24 Dmitri Lapkes  Belarus
25 Wiradech Kothny  Thailand
26 Nikolay Kovalev  Russia
27 Valery Pryiemka  Belarus
28 Jason Rogers  United States
29 Mamadou Keita  Senegal
30 Philippe Beaudry  Canada
31 Marcin Koniusz  Poland
32 Renzo Agresta  Brazil
33 Carlos Bravo  Venezuela
34 Mahmoud Samir  Egypt
35 Gamal Fathy  Egypt
36 Satoshi Ogawa  Japan
37 Abdoulaye Thiam  Senegal
38 Julien Ouedraogo  Burkina Faso
39 Alex O'Connell  Great Britain
40 Shadi Talaat  Egypt

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Sabre, Individual, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 25 November 2020.