# Fencing at the 1928 Summer Olympics – Men's épée

The men's épée was one of seven fencing events on the Fencing at the 1928 Summer Olympics programme. It was the seventh appearance of the event. The competition was held from 6 August 1928 to 7 August 1928. 59 fencers from 22 nations competed. Each nation could have up to three fencers. The event was won by Lucien Gaudin of France, the nation's third victory in the individual men's épée—taking sole possession of most among nations above Cuba and Belgium, each at two. Gaudin was the second man to win both the foil and épée events at a single Games. It was the third consecutive Games at which France reached the podium in the event. Two Frenchman had reached the head-to-head final; Gaudin won over Georges Buchard, who received silver. Bronze in 1928 went to American George Calnan, the nation's first medal in the event.

## Background

This was the seventh appearance of the event, which was not held at the first Games in 1896 (with only foil and sabre events held) but has been held at every Summer Olympics since 1900.
Six of the 12 finalists from the 1924 Games returned: gold medalist (and 1920 finalist) Charles Delporte of Belgium, bronze medalist Nils Hellsten of Sweden, fifth-place finisher (and 1920 gold medalist) Armand Massard of France, seventh-place finisher Georges Buchard of France, seventh-place finisher Léon Tom of Belgium, and ninth-place finisher Peter Ryefelt of Denmark. Buchard was the reigning (1927) World Champion; his countryman Lucien Gaudin was the 1921 World Champion. The two were favored in the event.
Bulgaria, Chile, Finland, Mexico, and Romania each made their debut in the event. Belgium, Great Britain, and the United States each appeared for the sixth time, tied for most among nations.

## Competition format

The competition format was unusual. It began with the same general four-round, pool-play format in use since 1908 (though with some modifications). However, it added an "extra final" medal round which placed the top four finishers in the "final" into a single-elimination bracket with a bronze medal bout. In each round before the "extra final", each pool held a round-robin; however, the number of touches changed by round. Double-touches counted as touches against both fencers, and both fencers could lose a bout if a double-touch resulted in each reaching the prescribed number of touches against. There were no barrages.
* First round: 6 pools of between 9 and 10 fencers each. Bouts were to 1 touch. The 6 fencers in each pool with the most wins advanced to the quarterfinals.
* Quarterfinals: 3 pools of 12 fencers each. Bouts were to 1 touch. The 6 fencers in each pool with the most wins advanced to the semifinals.
* Semifinals: 2 pools of 9 fencers each. Bouts were to 2 touches. The 5 fencers in each pool with the most wins advanced to the final.
* Final: 1 pool of 10 fencers. Bouts were to 2 touches. The top 4 fencers advanced to the "extra final" medal round.
* Extra final: A four-fencer, single-elimination bracket. The #1 seed faced the #4 seed, and the #2 vs. the #3 in a semifinal round. The winners of those two bouts reached the gold medal final, while the losers of the two semifinals went to the bronze medal bout.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Round |
| Monday, 6 August 1928 | 9:00 13:30 16:30 | Round 1 Quarterfinals Semifinals |
| Tuesday, 7 August 1928 | | Final Extra final |

## Results

Source: Official results; De Wael

### Round 1

Each pool was a round-robin. Bouts were to one touch, with double-losses possible. The top six fencers in each pool advanced to the second round.

#### Pool A

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Notes |
| 1 | Domingo García | Spain | 7 | Q |
| 2 | Charles Biscoe | Great Britain | 6 | Q |
| 3 | Saul Moyal | Egypt | 6 | Q |
| 4 | Henrique da Silveira | Portugal | 5 | Q |
| 5 | Hans Halberstadt | Germany | 5 | Q |
| 6 | Charles Debeur | Belgium | 5 | Q |
| 7 | Ottó Hátszeghy | Hungary | 3 | |
| 7 | Luis Hernández | Mexico | 3 | |
| 9 | Sigurd Akre-Aas | Norway | 1 | |
| 9 | Gunnar Cederschiöld | Sweden | 1 | |

#### Pool B

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Notes |
| 1 | Nils Hellsten | Sweden | 7 | Q |
| 2 | George Calnan | United States | 7 | Q |
| 3 | Eugène Empeyta | Switzerland | 6 | Q |
| 4 | Ivan Osiier | Denmark | 6 | Q |
| 5 | János Hajdú | Hungary | 5 | Q |
| 6 | Fritz Jack | Germany | 3 | Q |
| 7 | František Kříž | Czechoslovakia | 3 | |
| 7 | Pieter Mijer | Netherlands | 3 | |
| 9 | Torvald Appelroth | Finland | 2 | |
| 9 | Gheorghe Caranfil | Romania | 2 | |

#### Pool C

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Notes |
| 1 | Salvator Cicurel | Egypt | 6 | Q |
| 2 | Paulo Leal | Portugal | 6 | Q |
| 3 | Jens Berthelsen | Denmark | 6 | Q |
| 4 | Willem Driebergen | Netherlands | 5 | Q |
| 5 | József Rády | Hungary | 4 | Q |
| 6 | Gustaf Dyrssen | Sweden | 4 | Q |
| 7 | Fidel González | Spain | 4 | |
| 7 | Raoul Heide | Norway | 4 | |
| 7 | Antonio Villamil | Argentina | 4 | |
| 10 | Edward Willis Barnett | United States | 1 | |

#### Pool D

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Notes |
| 1 | Léon Tom | Belgium | 6 | Q |
| 2 | Armand Massard | France | 6 | Q |
| 3 | Răzvan Penescu | Romania | 6 | Q |
| 4 | Peter Ryefelt | Denmark | 5 | Q |
| 5 | Oscar Martínez | Argentina | 5 | Q |
| 6 | Allen Milner | United States | 4 | Q |
| 7 | Jan Černohorský | Czechoslovakia | 4 | |
| 8 | Konstantinos Bembis | Greece | 3 | |
| 9 | Adrianus de Jong | Netherlands | 2 | |
| 10 | Frithjof Lorentzen | Norway | 1 | |

#### Pool E

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Notes |
| 1 | Lucien Gaudin | France | 9 | Q |
| 2 | Édouard Fitting | Switzerland | 6 | Q |
| 3 | Charles Delporte | Belgium | 6 | Q |
| 4 | Theodor Fischer | Germany | 4 | Q |
| 5 | Frederico Paredes | Portugal | 4 | Q |
| 6 | Bertie Childs | Great Britain | 3 | Q |
| 7 | Dan Gheorghiu | Romania | 3 | |
| 8 | Georgios Ambet | Greece | 2 | |
| 8 | Elie Adda | Egypt | 2 | |
| 10 | José Llauro | Argentina | 1 | |

#### Pool F

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Notes |
| 1 | Georges Buchard | France | 7 | Q |
| 2 | Henri Jacquet | Switzerland | 6 | Q |
| 3 | Martin Holt | Great Britain | 6 | Q |
| 4 | Tryfon Triantafyllakos | Greece | 4 | Q |
| 5 | Pedro Mercado | Mexico | 3 | Q |
| 6 | Josef Jungmann | Czechoslovakia | 3 | Q |
| 7 | Tomás Goyoaga | Chile | 3 | |
| 8 | Dimitar Vasilev | Bulgaria | 2 | |
| 8 | Lauri Kettunen | Finland | 2 | |

### Quarterfinals

Each pool was a round-robin. Bouts were to one touch, with double-losses possible. The top six fencers in each pool advanced to the semifinals.

#### Quarterfinal A

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Notes |
| 1 | Lucien Gaudin | France | 9 | Q |
| 2 | Frederico Paredes | Portugal | 8 | Q |
| 3 | Hans Halberstadt | Germany | 7 | Q |
| 4 | Saul Moyal | Egypt | 7 | Q |
| 5 | Willem Driebergen | Netherlands | 6 | Q |
| 6 | Charles Debeur | Belgium | 5 | Q |
| 7 | Henri Jacquet | Switzerland | 5 | |
| 8 | Gustaf Dyrssen | Sweden | 4 | |
| 8 | Răzvan Penescu | Romania | 4 | |
| 10 | Oscar Martínez | Argentina | 2 | |
| 10 | Peter Ryefelt | Denmark | 2 | |
| 12 | Martin Holt | Great Britain | 2 | |

#### Quarterfinal B

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Notes |
| 1 | Jens Berthelsen | Denmark | 8 | Q |
| 2 | Léon Tom | Belgium | 7 | Q |
| 3 | Georges Buchard | France | 6 | Q |
| 4 | Allen Milner | United States | 6 | Q |
| 5 | Nils Hellsten | Sweden | 6 | Q |
| 6 | József Rády | Hungary | 6 | Q |
| 7 | Paulo Leal | Portugal | 6 | |
| 8 | Josef Jungmann | Czechoslovakia | 5 | |
| 9 | Tryfon Triantafyllakos | Greece | 4 | |
| 9 | Édouard Fitting | Switzerland | 4 | |
| 11 | Bertie Childs | Great Britain | 3 | |
| 12 | Theodor Fischer | Germany | 1 | |

#### Quarterfinal C

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Notes |
| 1 | Salvator Cicurel | Egypt | 8 | Q |
| 2 | George Calnan | United States | 8 | Q |
| 3 | Ivan Osiier | Denmark | 7 | Q |
| 4 | Armand Massard | France | 7 | Q |
| 5 | Charles Delporte | Belgium | 7 | Q |
| 6 | Eugène Empeyta | Switzerland | 5 | Q |
| 7 | Domingo García | Spain | 5 | |
| 7 | Henrique da Silveira | Portugal | 5 | |
| 9 | Fritz Jack | Germany | 4 | |
| 10 | János Hajdú | Hungary | 3 | |
| 10 | Charles Biscoe | Great Britain | 3 | |
| 12 | Pedro Mercado | Mexico | 2 | |

### Semifinals

Each pool was a round-robin. Bouts were to two touches, with double-losses possible. The top five fencers in each pool advanced to the final.

#### Semifinal A

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Notes |
| 1 | Lucien Gaudin | France | 6 | Q |
| 2 | Léon Tom | Belgium | 5 | Q |
| 3 | Charles Delporte | Belgium | 5 | Q |
| 4 | George Calnan | United States | 4 | Q |
| 5 | Saul Moyal | Egypt | 4 | Q |
| 6 | Willem Driebergen | Netherlands | 3 | |
| 7 | Ivan Osiier | Denmark | 3 | |
| 8 | Eugène Empeyta | Switzerland | 2 | |
| 9 | József Rády | Hungary | 2 | |

#### Semifinal B

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Notes |
| 1 | Georges Buchard | France | 6 | Q |
| 2 | Nils Hellsten | Sweden | 6 | Q |
| 3 | Salvator Cicurel | Egypt | 5 | Q |
| 4 | Charles Debeur | Belgium | 4 | Q |
| 5 | Allen Milner | United States | 4 | Q |
| 6 | Armand Massard | France | 4 | |
| 7 | Jens Berthelsen | Denmark | 3 | |
| 8 | Frederico Paredes | Portugal | 3 | |
| 9 | Hans Halberstadt | Germany | 0 | |

### Final

The final was a round-robin. Bouts were to two touches, with double-losses possible. The top four advanced to the "extra final" or medal round.
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Notes |
| 1 | Lucien Gaudin | France | 8 | Q |
| 2 | Georges Buchard | France | 7 | Q |
| 3 | George Calnan | United States | 6 | Q |
| 4 | Léon Tom | Belgium | 6 | Q |
| 5 | Nils Hellsten | Sweden | 5 | |
| 6 | Charles Delporte | Belgium | 4 | |
| 7 | Charles Debeur | Belgium | 3 | |
| 7 | Salvator Cicurel | Egypt | 3 | |
| 9 | Allen Milner | United States | 1 | |
| 10 | Saul Moyal | Egypt | 1 | |

### Extra final

The "extra final" round was a two-round single elimination tournament with a third-place match: that is, the four fencers competed in two semifinals, with the winners playing a gold medal bout and the losers playing a bronze medal bout. The bouts were to 10 touches, but the winner had to win by at least 2 or the bout continued.
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Gold medal bout | Gold medal bout | Gold medal bout |
| 1 | Lucien Gaudin (FRA) | 10 | | | |
| 4 | Léon Tom (BEL) | 6 | | | |
| 4 | Léon Tom (BEL) | 6 | 1 | Lucien Gaudin (FRA) | 10 |
| | | | 2 | Georges Buchard (FRA) | 6 |
| 2 | Georges Buchard (FRA) | 13 | 2 | Georges Buchard (FRA) | 6 |
| 3 | George Calnan (USA) | 11 | Bronze medal bout | Bronze medal bout | Bronze medal bout |
| | | | 4 | Léon Tom (BEL) | 6 |
| | | | 3 | George Calnan (USA) | 10 |

## Results summary

| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Round 1 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | Medal semifinal | Medal final |
| | Lucien Gaudin | France | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | Tom (BEL) W 10–6 | Buchard (FRA) W 10–6 |
| | Georges Buchard | France | 1st | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | Calnan (USA) W 13–11 | Gaudin (FRA) L 10–6 |
| | George Calnan | United States | 2nd | 2nd | 4th | 3rd | Buchard (FRA) L 13–11 | Tom (BEL) W 10–6 |
| 4 | Léon Tom | Belgium | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 4th | Gaudin (FRA) L 10–6 | Calnan (USA) L 10–6 |
| 5 | Nils Hellsten | Sweden | 1st | 5th | 2nd | 5th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 6 | Charles Delporte | Belgium | 3rd | 5th | 3rd | 6th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 7 | Charles Debeur | Belgium | 6th | 6th | 4th | 7th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 7 | Salvator Cicurel | Egypt | 1st | 1st | 3rd | 7th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 9 | Allen Milner | United States | 6th | 4th | 5th | 9th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 10 | Saul Moyal | Egypt | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 10th | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 11 | Willem Driebergen | Netherlands | 4th | 5th | 6th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 11 | Armand Massard | France | 2nd | 4th | 6th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 13 | Jens Berthelsen | Denmark | 3rd | 1st | 7th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 13 | Ivan Osiier | Denmark | 4th | 3rd | 7th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 15 | Eugène Empeyta | Switzerland | 3rd | 6th | 8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 15 | Frederico Paredes | Portugal | 5th | 2nd | 8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 17 | Hans Halberstadt | Germany | 5th | 3rd | 9th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 17 | József Rády | Hungary | 5th | 6th | 9th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Domingo García | Spain | 1st | 7th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Henri Jacquet | Switzerland | 2nd | 7th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Paulo Leal | Portugal | 2nd | 7th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Henrique da Silveira | Portugal | 4th | 7th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 23 | Gustaf Dyrssen | Sweden | 6th | 8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 23 | Josef Jungmann | Czechoslovakia | 6th | 8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 23 | Răzvan Penescu | Romania | 3rd | 8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 26 | Édouard Fitting | Switzerland | 2nd | 9th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 26 | Fritz Jack | Germany | 6th | 9th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 26 | Tryfon Triantafyllakos | Greece | 4th | 9th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 29 | Charles Biscoe | Great Britain | 2nd | 10th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 29 | János Hajdú | Hungary | 5th | 10th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 29 | Oscar Martínez | Argentina | 5th | 10th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 29 | Peter Ryefelt | Denmark | 4th | 10th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 33 | Bertie Childs | Great Britain | 6th | 11th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 34 | Theodor Fischer | Germany | 4th | 12th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 34 | Martin Holt | Great Britain | 3rd | 12th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 34 | Pedro Mercado | Mexico | 5th | 12th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 37 | Jan Černohorský | Czechoslovakia | 7th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 37 | Dan Gheorghiu | Romania | 7th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 37 | Fidel González | Spain | 7th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 37 | Tomás Goyoaga | Chile | 7th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 37 | Ottó Hátszeghy | Hungary | 7th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 37 | Raoul Heide | Norway | 7th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 37 | Luis Hernández | Mexico | 7th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 37 | František Kříž | Czechoslovakia | 7th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 37 | Pieter Mijer | Netherlands | 7th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 37 | Antonio Villamil | Argentina | 7th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 47 | Elie Adda | Egypt | 8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 47 | Georgios Ambet | Greece | 8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 47 | Konstantinos Bembis | Greece | 8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 47 | Lauri Kettunen | Finland | 8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 47 | Dimitar Vasilev | Bulgaria | 8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 52 | Sigurd Akre-Aas | Norway | 9th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 52 | Torvald Appelroth | Finland | 9th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 52 | Gheorghe Caranfil | Romania | 9th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 52 | Gunnar Cederschiöld | Sweden | 9th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 52 | Adrianus de Jong | Netherlands | 9th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 57 | Edward Willis Barnett | United States | 10th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 57 | José Llauro | Argentina | 10th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 57 | Frithjof Lorentzen | Norway | 10th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |