# Fencing at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's foil

The men's foil was one of seven fencing events on the fencing at the 1952 Summer Olympics programme. It was the eleventh appearance of the event. The competition was held from 23 July 1952 to 24 July 1952. 61 fencers from 25 nations competed. All three medallists were left-handed. Nations were limited to three fencers each since 1928. The event was won by Christian d'Oriola of France, the nation's second consecutive victory in the men's foil and sixth overall. D'Oriola was the fifth man to win multiple medals in the event. The silver and bronze medals were won by Edoardo Mangiarotti and Manlio Di Rosa of Italy.

## Background

This was the 11th 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). Six of the eight finalists from 1948 returned: gold medalist Jehan Buhan and silver medalist Christian d'Oriola of France, bronze medalist Lajos Maszlay of Hungary, fourth-place finisher John Emrys Lloyd of Great Britain (in his fourth Games), sixth-place finisher Manlio Di Rosa of Italy, and seventh-place finisher Paul Valcke of Belgium. The Italian and French teams, as usual, were strong. For the French, d'Oriola was the 1947 and 1949 world champion and Buhan had been on the podium in 1950 and 1951. For the Italians, Edoardo Mangiarotti had finished third in 1949 and second in 1951 and Manlio Di Rosa had won in 1951.
Colombia, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Turkey each made their debut in the men's foil. The United States made its 10th appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the inaugural 1896 competition.

## Competition format

The event used a four-round format. In each round, the fencers were divided into pools to play a round-robin within the pool. Bouts were to five touches. The 1952 tournament introduced byes for the fencers from the top 4 nations in the team foil event, who advanced directly to the quarterfinals. Ties were broken through fence-off bouts ("barrages") in early rounds if necessary for determining advancement. Ties not necessary for advancement were either not broken (if at least one fencer had not finished all bouts in the round-robin) or broken first by touches received and then by touches scored. In the final, ties were broken by barrage if necessary for medal placement but otherwise first by touches received and then by touches scored. Standard foil rules were used, including that touches had to be made with the tip of the foil, the target area was limited to the torso, and priority determined the winner of double touches.
* Round 1: There were 7 pools of 6–8 fencers each. The top 4 fencers in each pool advanced to the quarterfinals.
* Quarterfinals: There were 6 pools of 6–7 fencers each. The top 3 fencers in each quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals.
* Semifinals: There were 3 pools of 6 fencers each. The top 3 fencers in each semifinal advanced to the final.
* Final: The final pool had 9 fencers.

## Schedule

All times are Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+3)
| Date | Time | Round |
| Wednesday, 23 July 1952 | 8:00 15:00 | Round 1 Quarterfinals |
| Thursday, 24 July 1952 | 8:00 15:00 | Semifinals Final |

## Results
### Round 1

The top 4 finishers in each pool advanced to the quarterfinals. Fencers from the four teams that advanced to the final of the men's team foil event received byes through round 1:
* Egypt: Salah Dessouki, Mohamed Ali Riad, and Mahmoud Younes
* France: Jéhan Buhan, Christian d'Oriola, and Jacques Lataste
* Italy: Giancarlo Bergamini, Manlio Di Rosa, and Edoardo Mangiarotti
* Hungary: Lajos Maszlay, Endre Palócz, and Endre Tilli

#### Pool 1

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | TR | Notes |
| 1 | Vasile Chelaru | Romania | 4 | 1 | 12 | Q |
| 1 | Nate Lubell | United States | 4 | 1 | 14 | Q |
| 1 | Benito Ramos | Mexico | 4 | 1 | 19 | Q |
| 4 | Mark Midler | Soviet Union | 3 | 1 | 11 | Q |
| 5 | Karl Bach | Saar | 2 | 4 | 28 | |
| 6 | Ricardo Rimini | Uruguay | 0 | 4 | 20 | |
| 6 | Augusto Gutiérrez | Venezuela | 0 | 5 | 25 | |

#### Pool 2

Paul defeated Lund in a barrage for fourth place.
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | TR | Notes |
| 1 | Rolf Magnusson | Sweden | 5 | 1 | 14 | Q |
| 2 | German Bokun | Soviet Union | 4 | 1 | 13 | Q |
| 2 | Félix Galimi | Argentina | 4 | 1 | 17 | Q |
| 4 | Raymond Paul | Great Britain | 3 | 3 | 23 | Q |
| 5 | Ivan Lund | Australia | 3 | 3 | 23 | |
| 6 | Juan Kavanagh | Venezuela | 1 | 5 | 28 | |
| 6 | Roland Asselin | Canada | 0 | 6 | 30 | |

#### Pool 3

Iesi defeated Thuillier in a barrage for fourth place.
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | TR | Notes |
| 1 | Bo Eriksson | Sweden | 4 | 1 | 16 | Q |
| 2 | Nicolae Marinescu | Romania | 3 | 2 | 17 | Q |
| 3 | Norman Casmir | Germany | 3 | 2 | 21 | Q |
| 4 | Sergio Iesi | Uruguay | 2 | 3 | 17 | Q |
| 5 | Harry Thuillier | Ireland | 2 | 3 | 18 | |
| 6 | Jock Gibson | Australia | 1 | 4 | 22 | |

#### Pool 4

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | TR | Notes |
| 1 | André Verhalle | Belgium | 5 | 1 | 16 | Q |
| 2 | Jerzy Twardokens | Poland | 4 | 1 | 16 | Q |
| 2 | René Paul | Great Britain | 4 | 2 | 17 | Q |
| 4 | Fulvio Galimi | Argentina | 3 | 2 | 17 | Q |
| 5 | Kurt Wahl | Ireland | 2 | 4 | 25 | |
| 6 | Shinichi Maki | Japan | 2 | 4 | 27 | |
| 7 | Rubén Soberón | Guatemala | 0 | 6 | 30 | |

#### Pool 5

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | TR | Notes |
| 1 | Luke Wendon | Great Britain | 5 | 1 | 16 | Q |
| 1 | John Fethers | Australia | 5 | 2 | 20 | Q |
| 1 | Leif Klette | Norway | 5 | 2 | 21 | Q |
| 1 | Nils Rydström | Sweden | 5 | 2 | 26 | Q |
| 5 | Julius Eisenecker | Germany | 2 | 4 | 20 | |
| 5 | Patrick Duffy | Ireland | 2 | 4 | 27 | |
| 5 | Ernst Rau | Saar | 2 | 5 | 28 | |
| 8 | Giovanni Bertorelli | Venezuela | 0 | 6 | 30 | |

#### Pool 6

Lindeman and Vîlcea defeated Rodríguez in a three-way barrage for third and fourth places.
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | TS | TR | Notes |
| 1 | Albie Axelrod | United States | 5 | 0 | 25 | 10 | Q |
| 1 | Gustave Ballister | Belgium | 5 | 1 | | 13 | Q |
| 3 | Kurt Lindeman | Finland | 3 | 3 | | 21 | Q |
| 4 | Andrei Vîlcea | Great Britain | 3 | 3 | | 22 | Q |
| 5 | José Rodríguez | Argentina | 3 | 3 | | 23 | |
| 6 | Edward Brooke | Canada | 1 | 4 | | 22 | |
| 7 | Eduardo López | Guatemala | 0 | 6 | | 30 | |

#### Pool 7

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | TR | Notes |
| 1 | Yulen Uralov | Soviet Union | 4 | 1 | 12 | Q |
| 1 | Daniel Bukantz | United States | 4 | 1 | 16 | Q |
| 1 | Paul Valcke | Belgium | 4 | 2 | 18 | Q |
| 4 | Jerzy Pawłowski | Poland | 3 | 2 | 18 | Q |
| 5 | Heikki Raitio | Finland | 1 | 4 | 21 | |
| 5 | Günther Knödler | Saar | 1 | 4 | 22 | |
| 5 | Abelardo Menéndez | Cuba | 1 | 4 | 24 | |

### Quarterfinals

The top 3 finishers in each pool advanced to the semifinals.

#### Quarterfinal 1

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | TS | TR | Notes |
| 1 | Manlio Di Rosa | Italy | 4 | 0 | 20 | 10 | Q |
| 2 | Bo Eriksson | Sweden | 3 | 1 | | 12 | Q |
| 2 | Salah Dessouki | Egypt | 3 | 2 | | 22 | Q |
| 4 | Jerzy Twardokens | Poland | 2 | 3 | | 20 | |
| 5 | Raymond Paul | Great Britain | 1 | 3 | | 18 | |
| 6 | Mark Midler | Soviet Union | 0 | 4 | | 20 | |

#### Quarterfinal 2

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | TS | TR | Notes |
| 1 | Giancarlo Bergamini | Italy | 4 | 2 | | 15 | Q |
| 2 | Mahmoud Younes | Egypt | 4 | 2 | | 20 | Q |
| 3 | Albie Axelrod | United States | 4 | 2 | | 21 | Q |
| 4 | Jerzy Pawłowski | Poland | 3 | 3 | 22 | 26 | |
| 5 | Kurt Lindeman | Finland | 3 | 3 | 21 | 26 | |
| 6 | Félix Galimi | Argentina | 2 | 4 | | 28 | |
| 7 | Sergio Iesi | Uruguay | 1 | 5 | | 25 | |

#### Quarterfinal 3

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | TS | TR | Notes |
| 1 | Edoardo Mangiarotti | Italy | 6 | 0 | 30 | 7 | Q |
| 2 | Mohamed Ali Riad | Egypt | 4 | 2 | | 21 | Q |
| 3 | Nils Rydström | Sweden | 4 | 2 | | 25 | Q |
| 4 | Luke Wendon | Great Britain | 2 | 3 | | 18 | |
| 4 | Fulvio Galimi | Argentina | 2 | 3 | | 21 | |
| 4 | Paul Valcke | Belgium | 2 | 4 | | 24 | |
| 7 | Nicolae Marinescu | Romania | 0 | 6 | | 30 | |

#### Quarterfinal 4

d'Oriola and Tilli defeated Uralov in a three-way barrage for second and third place.
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | TR | Notes |
| 1 | René Paul | Great Britain | 5 | 1 | 17 | Q |
| 2 | Christian d'Oriola | France | 4 | 2 | 16 | Q |
| 3 | Endre Tilli | Hungary | 4 | 2 | 23 | Q |
| 4 | Yulen Uralov | Soviet Union | 4 | 2 | 19 | |
| 5 | Gustave Ballister | Belgium | 2 | 4 | 26 | |
| 6 | Norman Casmir | Germany | 1 | 5 | 28 | |
| 7 | Benito Ramos | Mexico | 1 | 5 | 29 | |

#### Quarterfinal 5

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | TS | TR | Notes |
| 1 | Jacques Lataste | France | 6 | 0 | 30 | 10 | Q |
| 2 | Endre Palócz | Hungary | 4 | 2 | | 14 | Q |
| 3 | André Verhalle | Belgium | 4 | 2 | | 23 | Q |
| 4 | Daniel Bukantz | United States | 3 | 3 | | 23 | |
| 5 | German Bokun | Soviet Union | 2 | 4 | | 25 | |
| 6 | Leif Klette | Norway | 1 | 5 | | 29 | |
| 7 | Andrei Vîlcea | Great Britain | 1 | 5 | | 29 | |

#### Quarterfinal 6

Lubell prevailed over Magnusson, Chelaru, and Fethers in a four-way barrage for third place.
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | TR | Notes |
| 1 | Jéhan Buhan | France | 4 | 1 | 12 | Q |
| 2 | Lajos Maszlay | Hungary | 3 | 2 | 17 | Q |
| 3 | Nate Lubell | United States | 2 | 3 | 20 | Q |
| 4 | Rolf Magnusson | Sweden | 2 | 3 | 23 | |
| 5 | Vasile Chelaru | Romania | 2 | 3 | 23 | |
| 6 | John Fethers | Australia | 2 | 3 | 21 | |

### Semifinals

The top 3 finishers in each pool advanced to the final.

#### Semifinal 1

Tilli defeated Verhalle in a barrage for third place.
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | TR | Notes |
| 1 | Giancarlo Bergamini | Italy | 4 | 1 | 14 | Q |
| 1 | Jéhan Buhan | France | 4 | 1 | 14 | Q |
| 3 | Endre Tilli | Hungary | 3 | 2 | 19 | Q |
| 4 | André Verhalle | Belgium | 3 | 2 | 18 | |
| 5 | Nate Lubell | United States | 1 | 4 | 24 | |
| 6 | Mohamed Ali Riad | Egypt | 0 | 5 | 25 | |

#### Semifinal 2

Dessouki defeated Maszlay in a barrage for third place.
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | TS | TR | Notes |
| 1 | Edoardo Mangiarotti | Italy | 5 | 0 | 25 | 11 | Q |
| 2 | Jacques Lataste | France | 4 | 1 | | 13 | Q |
| 3 | Salah Dessouki | Egypt | 2 | 3 | | 17 | Q |
| 4 | Lajos Maszlay | Hungary | 2 | 3 | | 19 | |
| 5 | Albie Axelrod | United States | 1 | 4 | | 22 | |
| 6 | Nils Rydström | Sweden | 1 | 4 | | 23 | |

#### Semifinal 3

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | TR | Notes |
| 1 | Christian d'Oriola | France | 4 | 1 | 13 | Q |
| 2 | Manlio Di Rosa | Italy | 4 | 1 | 16 | Q |
| 3 | Mahmoud Younes | Egypt | 3 | 2 | 18 | Q |
| 4 | Endre Palócz | Hungary | 2 | 3 | 20 | |
| 5 | Bo Eriksson | Sweden | 1 | 4 | 22 | |
| 6 | René Paul | Great Britain | 1 | 4 | 23 | |

### Final

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | TS | TR |
| | Christian d'Oriola | France | 8 | 0 | 40 | 12 |
| | Edoardo Mangiarotti | Italy | 6 | 2 | | 21 |
| | Manlio Di Rosa | Italy | 5 | 3 | | 22 |
| 4 | Jacques Lataste | France | 4 | 4 | | 31 |
| 5 | Jéhan Buhan | France | 4 | 4 | 29 | 33 |
| 6 | Mahmoud Younes | Egypt | 4 | 4 | 27 | 33 |
| 7 | Salah Dessouki | Egypt | 2 | 6 | | 35 |
| 8 | Giancarlo Bergamini | Italy | 2 | 6 | | 36 |
| 9 | Endre Tilli | Hungary | 1 | 7 | | 39 |