Léon Tom

Léon Tom was a top fencer for two decades, particularly with the épée. He won two Olympic silver medals with the Belgian épée team (1920, 1924) and in 1930 the inaugural title in the European Championships (which were the top event for lack of World Championships). Individually, he also won bronze medals at the European Championships of 1922 (sabre) and 1926 (épée), while earning four individual top 10 positions in the four Olympics in which he competed. In 1928 Tom, an officer in the army, also competed in the bobsleigh event at the Winter Olympics in St. Moritz. In 1940, Tom, who was Jewish, escaped Belgium for Portugal and then sailed to the United States on the SS Excambion on 13 December 1940. He later lived in Manhattan and was a self-employed diamond broker.