Mahmoud Younes

Mahmoud Younes’ fencing career took off in the mid-1930s, when he won the team épée and sabre events at the 1935 Egyptian Championships. He was fourth in the foil in 1936 and was not selected for the Egyptian delegation to that year’s Berlin Olympics, but in 1937 he was the national sabre champion, sixth in the foil, and seventh in the épée. In 1938, he was third in the individual foil, while in 1939 he captured both the foil and sabre titles.

Younes’ fencing activity picked up again after World War II, and he won his first major international medal, bronze in the team sabre, at the 1947 World Championships. That year, he was also the national foil champion again, and he was then selected to represent Egypt at the 1948 London Olympics in every event except the individual sabre. His nation was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the team épée and sabre events, while in the foil they survived until the semi-finals. Individually, Younes made the quarter-finals of the foil and the semi-finals of the épée. He then defended his team sabre bronze at the 1949 World Championships and also added bronze in the épée and foil team competitions. He would take bronze in the team foil over the next two years, as well as team sabre bronze in 1950.

Younes’ next stop was the inaugural Mediterranean Games in 1951, where he captured medals in all of the team events: silver in sabre and bronze in foil and épée. He would go on to take bronze in all three of those competitions again at the next edition in 1955. In-between, he represented Egypt at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, where his nation just missed the podium in fourth in the team foil and Younes was sixth individually. In the team épée and foil, Egypt was eliminated in round one and the quarter-finals respectively. Having served as an official already at the 1948 Games, Younes returned to the Olympics once more in 1960 in that capacity.