# Fencing at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's masters épée

The professional event in épée at the 1900 Summer Olympics had 54 fencers from 5 nations compete. The event took place from 11 to 14 June at the Tuileries Garden. The event was won by Albert Ayat of France, leading a French sweep with Gilbert Bougnol taking silver and Henri Laurent bronze.

## Background

Fencing was the only sport that had professional competitions at the Olympics in 1900 and 1904. A professional foil event was held in 1900, with épée and sabre joining in 1904. The professional events were not held again afterwards (excepting the 1906 Intercalated Games, so this was the only time that masters épée was contested. The épée events also featured a unique competition: an amateurs-masters épée event. The top 4 fencers in this event, as well as the top 4 fencers in the amateurs épée event, were eligible for that competition.

## Competition format

The event used a three-round format: quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. Each round consisted of pool play. For the quarterfinals, the fencers were divided into 9 pools of 6 fencers each; the top two fencers in each pool advanced to the semifinals. The semifinals had the 18 men compete in 3 pools of 6, with the top 3 in each pool advancing to a 9-man final.
The actual competition format within pools is not entirely clear. No results are known beyond the rankings.

## Schedule

| Date | Round |
| Monday, 11 June 1900 | Quarterfinals |
| Tuesday, 12 June 1900 | Quarterfinals continued |
| Wednesday, 13 June 1900 | Semifinals |
| Thursday, 14 June 1900 | Final |

## Results
### Quarterfinals

In the quarterfinals, the fencers were divided into 9 pools of 6 fencers each, with the top two advancing from each pool to the semifinal. The first round was held on 11 and 12 June.

#### Quarterfinal A

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Notes |
| 1 | Aufort | France | Q |
| 2 | Lézard | France | Q |
| 3–6 | Debrinay | France | |
| 3–6 | Deprey | France | |
| 3–6 | Alfred Nau | France | |
| 3–6 | Antonius van Nieuwenhuizen | Netherlands | |

#### Quarterfinal B

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Notes |
| 1 | Henri Pantin | France | Q |
| 2 | Louis Haller | France | Q |
| 3–6 | Assé | France | |
| 3–6 | Flahaut | France | |
| 3–6 | Joseph-Auguste Métais | France | |
| 3–6 | Francis Sabourin | France | |

#### Quarterfinal C

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Notes |
| 1 | Georges Jourdan | France | Q |
| 2 | Jean Jeanvoix | France | Q |
| 3–6 | Bormel | France | |
| 3–6 | Roquais | France | |
| 3–6 | Surzet | France | |
| 3–6 | Léon Thiércelin | Haiti | |

#### Quarterfinal D

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Notes |
| 1 | Brassart | France | Q |
| 2 | Sylvain Lézard | France | Q |
| 3–6 | Céré | France | |
| 3–6 | Élie Dufraisse | France | |
| 3–6 | Louis Garnoty | France | |
| 3–6 | Charles Marty | France | |

#### Quarterfinal E

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Notes |
| 1 | Gilbert Bougnol | France | Q |
| 2 | Hippolyte-Jacques Hyvernaud | France | Q |
| 3–6 | Charles Cléry | France | |
| 3–6 | Constant Dulau | France | |
| 3–6 | Jean Lafoucrière | France | |
| 3–6 | Nègrout | France | |

#### Quarterfinal F

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Notes |
| 1 | Jean Michel | France | Q |
| 2 | Félix Ayat | France | Q |
| 3–6 | Xavier Anchetti | France | |
| 3–6 | Emmanuel Andrieu | France | |
| 3–6 | Márton Endrédy | Hungary | |
| 3–6 | Launay | France | |

#### Quarterfinal G

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Notes |
| 1 | Albert Ayat | France | Q |
| 2 | Henri Laurent | France | Q |
| 3–6 | Unknown | | |

#### Quarterfinal H

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Notes |
| 1 | Marie-Louis Damotte | France | Q |
| 2 | Henri Yvon | France | Q |
| 3–6 | Unknown | | |

#### Quarterfinal I

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Notes |
| 1 | Georges-Louis Bézy | France | Q |
| 2 | Charles Clappier | France | Q |
| 3–6 | Unknown | | |

### Semifinals

The semifinals were held on 13 June. 3 pools with 6 fencers each competed in round-robin format, with the top 3 fencers in each pool advancing.

#### Semifinal A

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Notes |
| 1 | Georges Jourdan | France | Q |
| 2 | Lézard | France | Q |
| 3 | Marie-Louis Damotte | France | Q |
| 4-6 | Aufort | France | |
| 4-6 | Jean Jeanvoix | France | |
| 4-6 | Henri Pantin | France | |

#### Semifinal B

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Notes |
| 1 | Gilbert Bougnol | France | Q |
| 2 | Brassart | France | Q |
| 3 | Hippolyte-Jacques Hyvernaud | France | Q |
| 4-6 | Félix Ayat | France | |
| 4-6 | Louis Haller | France | |
| 4-6 | Jean Michel | France | |

#### Semifinal C

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Notes |
| 1 | Albert Ayat | France | Q |
| 2 | Henri Laurent | France | Q |
| 3 | Georges-Louis Bézy | France | Q |
| 4-6 | Charles Clappier | France | |
| 4-6 | Sylvain Lézard | France | |
| 4-6 | Henri Yvon | France | |

### Final

The final was conducted on 14 June.
| Rank | Fencer | Nation |
| | Albert Ayat | France |
| | Gilbert Bougnol | France |
| | Henri Laurent | France |
| 4 | Hippolyte-Jacques Hyvernaud | France |
| 5 | Marie-Louis Damotte | France |
| 6 | Brassart | France |
| 7 | Lézard | France |
| 8 | Georges Jourdan | France |
| 9 | Georges-Louis Bézy | France |

## Results summary

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final |
| | Albert Ayat | France | 1st | 1st | 1st |
| | Gilbert Bougnol | France | 1st | 1st | 2nd |
| | Henri Laurent | France | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd |
| 4 | Hippolyte-Jacques Hyvernaud | France | 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
| 5 | Marie-Louis Damotte | France | 1st | 3rd | 5th |
| 6 | Brassart | France | 1st | 2nd | 6th |
| 7 | Lézard | France | 2nd | 2nd | 7th |
| 8 | Georges Jourdan | France | 1st | 1st | 8th |
| 9 | Georges-Louis Bézy | France | 1st | 3rd | 9th |
| 10 | Aufort | France | 1st | 4th–6th | Did not advance |
| 10 | Félix Ayat | France | 2nd | 4th–6th | Did not advance |
| 10 | Charles Clappier | France | 2nd | 4th–6th | Did not advance |
| 10 | Louis Haller | France | 2nd | 4th–6th | Did not advance |
| 10 | Jean Jeanvoix | France | 2nd | 4th–6th | Did not advance |
| 10 | Sylvain Lézard | France | 2nd | 4th–6th | Did not advance |
| 10 | Jean Michel | France | 1st | 4th–6th | Did not advance |
| 10 | Henri Pantin | France | 1st | 4th–6th | Did not advance |
| 10 | Henri Yvon | France | 2nd | 4th–6th | Did not advance |
| 19 | Xavier Anchetti | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Emmanuel Andrieu | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Assé | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Bormel | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Céré | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Charles Cléry | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Debrinay | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Deprey | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Élie Dufraisse | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Constant Dulau | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Márton Endrédy | Hungary | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Flahaut | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Louis Garnoty | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Jean Lafoucrière | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Launay | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Charles Marty | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Joseph-Auguste Métais | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Alfred Nau | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Nègrout | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Antonius van Nieuwenhuizen | Netherlands | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Roquais | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Francis Sabourin | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Surzet | France | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Léon Thiércelin | Haiti | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | 12 unknown competitors | | 3rd–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |