Christian d'Oriola
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| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Fencing | |||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Gold | 1948 London | Team foil | |
| Gold | 1952 Helsinki | Individual foil | |
| Gold | 1952 Helsinki | Team foil | |
| Gold | 1956 Melbourne | Individual foil | |
| Silver | 1948 London | Individual foil | |
| Silver | 1956 Melbourne | Team foil | |
| World Championships | |||
| Gold | Lisbon 1947 | Foil Individual | |
| Gold | Lisbon 1947 | Foil Team | |
| Gold | Cairo 1949 | Foil Individual | |
| Gold | Stockholm 1951 | Foil Team | |
| Gold | Brussels 1953 | Foil Individual | |
| Gold | Brussels 1953 | Foil Team | |
| Gold | Luxembourg 1954 | Foil Individual | |
| Gold | Philadelphia 1958 | Foil Team | |
| Silver | Cairo 1949 | Foil Team | |
| Silver | Luxembourg 1954 | Foil Team | |
| Silver | Rome 1955 | Foil Individual | |
Christian D'Oriola (October 3, 1928 – October 29, 2007) was a noted French foil fencer named "Fencer of the 20th Century" by the FIE, the International Fencing Federation, in 2001. [1]
Born in Perpignan, France, he was World Champion four times (1947, 1949, 1953, and 1954), and twice Olympic Champion (1952, 1956) in the foil individual events. At the 1948 Olympics, at the age of 19, he won a team gold medal and an individual silver medal in foil. At the 1952 Olympics he won gold medals in both the team and individual foil competitions, winning all ten bouts in the team events. In 1956, at the Olympics he again won a gold medal in individual foil, while winning a silver medal in team foil. He was also four time team world champion (1948, 1952, 1953, 1954). Aged 42 he became French champion in the team sabre event in 1970. He is a first cousin of the equestrian Pierre Jonquères d'Oriola. In 1972, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor.
In 2001, the FIE listed the qualities that made Christian d’Oriola "Fencer of the 20th Century": "The speed of his hand, his prodigious technique, his light but devastatingly quick footwork, his instantaneous reactions, his inventiveness and his ability to adapt perfectly from "academic" (non-electric) to electric foil—all this means that Christian d’Oriola remains a model for his successors past and present." [2]
Noting the aesthetic component of his fencing, the FIE stated: "Christian d’Oriola was fencing perfection personified as no-one else has ever been…" [3]
[edit] Notes
1. "Highlights Of The Week, 29 October 2007", International Olympic Committee News: http://www.olympic.org/uk/news/olympic_news/week_uk.asp?weekDate=10/29/2007 Retrieved 10 Nov 2007
2. Safra, Jean-Marie. (Revue trimestrielle N°38, 2001 Decembre). "The world championships in Nimes. The day of glory for the first champions of the third millennium." International Fencing, Official Publication of the FIE, International Federation of Fencing.
3. Safra, Jean-Marie. (Revue trimestrielle N°38, 2001 Decembre). "The world championships in Nimes. The day of glory for the first champions of the third millennium." International Fencing, Official Publication of the FIE, International Federation of Fencing.
[edit] Sources
- Cohen, Richard (2002). By the Sword. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-375-50417-6.
