# Fencing at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's foil

The men's foil was one of ten fencing events on the fencing at the 2000 Summer Olympics programme. It was the twenty-third appearance of the event. The competition was held on 20 September 2000. 40 fencers from 22 nations competed. Nations had been limited to three fencers each since 1928. The event was won by Kim Yeong-Ho of South Korea, the first Asian man to win an Olympic fencing title. Ralf Bißdorf of Germany took silver, the first medal for united Germany since 1928 (though East and West Germany had each won medals separately). Dmitry Shevchenko's bronze medal was Russia's first as an independent nation in the event.

## Background

This was the 23rd 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). Four of the eight quarterfinalists from 1996 returned: silver medalist Lionel Plumenail of France, fourth-place finisher Wolfgang Wienand of Germany, fifth-place finisher Rolando Tucker of Cuba, sixth-place finisher (and 1992 silver medalist) Sergei Golubitsky of Ukraine, and eighth-place finisher Kim Young-ho of South Korea. Golubitsky was the favorite, having won all three world championships between Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000. Kim was a serious contender as well, rising from an unknown giant-killer (knocking off then-reigning world champion Dmitriy Shevchenko of Russia in the 1996 Games) to a giant himself (taking second in the 1997 and third in the 1999 world championships). Shevchenko returned as well, hoping for a better result than his early exit in Atlanta.
For the first time in the event's history, no nations made their debut in the men's foil. France and the United States each made their 21st 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.

## Competition format

The 1996 tournament had vastly simplified the competition format into a single-elimination bracket, with a bronze medal match. The 2000 tournament continued to use that format. Bouts were to 15 touches. Standard foil rules regarding target area, striking, and priority were used.

## Schedule

All times are Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC+10)
| Date | Time | Round |
| Wednesday, 20 September 2000 | 9:30 17:30 | Round of 64 Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Bronze medal match Final |

## Results

The field of 40 fencers competed in a single-elimination tournament to determine the medal winners. Semifinal losers proceeded to a bronze medal match.

### Section 1

| Round of 64 | Round of 64 | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 32 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals |
| | | | Salvatore Sanzo (ITA) | Salvatore Sanzo (ITA) | 15 | | | | | | |
| Gerald McMahon (AUS) | Gerald McMahon (AUS) | 9 | Wang Haibin (CHN) | Wang Haibin (CHN) | 10 | | | | | | |
| Wang Haibin (CHN) | Wang Haibin (CHN) | 15 | | | | Salvatore Sanzo (ITA) | Salvatore Sanzo (ITA) | 15 | | | |
| | | | | | | Carlos Rodríguez (VEN) | Carlos Rodríguez (VEN) | 7 | | | |
| | | | Ilgar Mamedov (RUS) | Ilgar Mamedov (RUS) | 14 | | | | | | |
| | | | Carlos Rodríguez (VEN) | Carlos Rodríguez (VEN) | 15 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Salvatore Sanzo (ITA) | Salvatore Sanzo (ITA) | 14 |
| | | | | | | | | | Dmitry Shevchenko (RUS) | Dmitry Shevchenko (RUS) | 15 |
| | | | Elvis Gregory (CUB) | Elvis Gregory (CUB) | 15 | | | | | | |
| Naoto Okazaki (JPN) | Naoto Okazaki (JPN) | 6 | Abdul Muhsen Ali (KUW) | Abdul Muhsen Ali (KUW) | 5 | | | | | | |
| Abdul Muhsen Ali (KUW) | Abdul Muhsen Ali (KUW) | 15 | | | | Elvis Gregory (CUB) | Elvis Gregory (CUB) | 14 | | | |
| | | | | | | Dmitry Shevchenko (RUS) | Dmitry Shevchenko (RUS) | 15 | | | |
| | | | Dmitry Shevchenko (RUS) | Dmitry Shevchenko (RUS) | 15 | | | | | | |
| | | | Adam Krzesiński (POL) | Adam Krzesiński (POL) | 8 | | | | | | |

### Section 2

| Round of 64 | Round of 64 | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 32 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals |
| | | | Serhiy Holubytskiy (UKR) | Serhiy Holubytskiy (UKR) | 15 | | | | | | |
| James Beevers (GBR) | James Beevers (GBR) | 15 | James Beevers (GBR) | James Beevers (GBR) | 1 | | | | | | |
| Marco Martins (BRA) | Marco Martins (BRA) | 7 | | | | Serhiy Holubytskiy (UKR) | Serhiy Holubytskiy (UKR) | 15 | | | |
| | | | | | | Matteo Zennaro (ITA) | Matteo Zennaro (ITA) | 12 | | | |
| | | | Matteo Zennaro (ITA) | Matteo Zennaro (ITA) | 15 | | | | | | |
| | | | Daniele Crosta (ITA) | Daniele Crosta (ITA) | 11 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Serhiy Holubytskiy (UKR) | Serhiy Holubytskiy (UKR) | 5 |
| | | | | | | | | | Kim Yeong-Ho (KOR) | Kim Yeong-Ho (KOR) | 15 |
| | | | Kim Yeong-Ho (KOR) | Kim Yeong-Ho (KOR) | 15 | | | | | | |
| Brice Guyart (FRA) | Brice Guyart (FRA) | 15 | Brice Guyart (FRA) | Brice Guyart (FRA) | 13 | | | | | | |
| Leandro Marchetti (ARG) | Leandro Marchetti (ARG) | 6 | | | | Kim Yeong-Ho (KOR) | Kim Yeong-Ho (KOR) | 15 | | | |
| | | | | | | Cliff Bayer (USA) | Cliff Bayer (USA) | 14 | | | |
| | | | Cliff Bayer (USA) | Cliff Bayer (USA) | 15 | | | | | | |
| | | | Ryszard Sobczak (POL) | Ryszard Sobczak (POL) | 9 | | | | | | |

### Section 3

| Round of 64 | Round of 64 | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 32 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals |
| | | | Jean-Noël Ferrari (FRA) | Jean-Noël Ferrari (FRA) | 15 | | | | | | |
| Lionel Plumenail (FRA) | Lionel Plumenail (FRA) | 15 | Lionel Plumenail (FRA) | Lionel Plumenail (FRA) | 8 | | | | | | |
| Tamer Mohamed Tahoun (EGY) | Tamer Mohamed Tahoun (EGY) | 9 | | | | Jean-Noël Ferrari (FRA) | Jean-Noël Ferrari (FRA) | 15 | | | |
| | | | | | | Rolando Tucker (CUB) | Rolando Tucker (CUB) | 13 | | | |
| | | | Rolando Tucker (CUB) | Rolando Tucker (CUB) | 15 | | | | | | |
| | | | Joachim Wendt (AUT) | Joachim Wendt (AUT) | 5 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Jean-Noël Ferrari (FRA) | Jean-Noël Ferrari (FRA) | 15 |
| | | | | | | | | | Richard Breutner (GER) | Richard Breutner (GER) | 9 |
| | | | Oscar García (CUB) | Oscar García (CUB) | 9 | | | | | | |
| Sławomir Mocek (POL) | Sławomir Mocek (POL) | 15 | Sławomir Mocek (POL) | Sławomir Mocek (POL) | 15 | | | | | | |
| Maher Ben Aziza (TUN) | Maher Ben Aziza (TUN) | 2 | | | | Sławomir Mocek (POL) | Sławomir Mocek (POL) | 8 | | | |
| | | | | | | Richard Breutner (GER) | Richard Breutner (GER) | 15 | | | |
| | | | Andrey Deyev (RUS) | Andrey Deyev (RUS) | 10 | | | | | | |
| | | | Richard Breutner (GER) | Richard Breutner (GER) | 15 | | | | | | |

### Section 4

| Round of 64 | Round of 64 | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 32 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals |
| | | | Wolfgang Wienand (GER) | Wolfgang Wienand (GER) | 8 | | | | | | |
| Márk Marsi (HUN) | Márk Marsi (HUN) | 15 | Márk Marsi (HUN) | Márk Marsi (HUN) | 15 | | | | | | |
| Andrey Kolganov (KAZ) | Andrey Kolganov (KAZ) | 13 | | | | Márk Marsi (HUN) | Márk Marsi (HUN) | 15 | | | |
| | | | | | | Ye Chong (CHN) | Ye Chong (CHN) | 8 | | | |
| | | | Ye Chong (CHN) | Ye Chong (CHN) | 15 | | | | | | |
| | | | Dong Zhaozhi (CHN) | Dong Zhaozhi (CHN) | 6 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Márk Marsi (HUN) | Márk Marsi (HUN) | 13 |
| | | | | | | | | | Ralf Bißdorf (GER) | Ralf Bißdorf (GER) | 15 |
| | | | João Gomes (POR) | João Gomes (POR) | 15 | | | | | | |
| | | | Michael Ludwig (AUT) | Michael Ludwig (AUT) | 12 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | João Gomes (POR) | João Gomes (POR) | 11 | | | |
| Oleksiy Kruhliak (UKR) | Oleksiy Kruhliak (UKR) | 15 | | | | Ralf Bißdorf (GER) | Ralf Bißdorf (GER) | 15 | | | |
| Oleksiy Bryzhalov (UKR) | Oleksiy Bryzhalov (UKR) | 9 | Oleksiy Kruhliak (UKR) | Oleksiy Kruhliak (UKR) | 7 | | | | | | |
| | | | Ralf Bißdorf (GER) | Ralf Bißdorf (GER) | 15 | | | | | | |

### Finals

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Dmitry Shevchenko (RUS) | 14 |
| Kim Yeong-Ho (KOR) | 15 | | |
| Kim Yeong-Ho (KOR) | 15 | Kim Yeong-Ho (KOR) | 15 |
| | | Ralf Bißdorf (GER) | 14 |
| Jean-Noël Ferrari (FRA) | 13 | Ralf Bißdorf (GER) | 14 |
| Ralf Bißdorf (GER) | 15 | | |
| Ralf Bißdorf (GER) | 15 | Bronze medal match | Bronze medal match |
| | | Dmitry Shevchenko (RUS) | 15 |
| | | Jean-Noël Ferrari (FRA) | 14 |

## Final classification

| Rank | Fencer | Nation |
| | Kim Yeong-Ho | South Korea |
| | Ralf Bißdorf | Germany |
| | Dmitry Shevchenko | Russia |
| 4 | Jean-Noël Ferrari | France |
| 5 | Salvatore Sanzo | Italy |
| 6 | Serhiy Holubytskiy | Ukraine |
| 7 | Richard Breutner | Germany |
| 8 | Márk Marsi | Hungary |
| 9 | Elvis Gregory | Cuba |
| 10 | Cliff Bayer | United States |
| 11 | Matteo Zennaro | Italy |
| 12 | João Gomes | Portugal |
| 13 | Carlos Rodríguez | Venezuela |
| 14 | Rolando Tucker | Cuba |
| 15 | Ye Chong | China |
| 16 | Sławomir Mocek | Poland |
| 17 | Oscar García | Cuba |
| 18 | Wolfgang Wienand | Germany |
| 19 | Dong Zhaozhi | China |
| 20 | Joachim Wendt | Austria |
| 21 | Ilgar Mamedov | Russia |
| 22 | Michael Ludwig | Austria |
| 23 | Daniele Crosta | Italy |
| 24 | Ryszard Sobczak | Poland |
| 25 | Andrey Deyev | Russia |
| 26 | Adam Krzesiński | Poland |
| 27 | Brice Guyart | France |
| 28 | James Beevers | Great Britain |
| 29 | Lionel Plumenail | France |
| 30 | Wang Haibin | China |
| 31 | Oleksiy Kruhliak | Ukraine |
| 32 | Abdul Muhsen Ali | Kuwait |
| 33 | Naoto Okazaki | Japan |
| 34 | Oleksiy Bryzhalov | Ukraine |
| 35 | Gerald McMahon | Australia |
| 36 | Tamer Mohamed Tahoun | Egypt |
| 37 | Marco Martins | Brazil |
| 38 | Leandro Marchetti | Argentina |
| 39 | Maher Ben Aziza | Tunisia |
| 40 | Andrey Kolganov | Kazakhstan |