Fencing at the 2008 Summer Olympics

For the first time in Olympic fencing history there was parity between the sexes at the Beijing Olympics of 2008. Five events were held for men and five for women with the men’s team foil and women’s team epee being omitted from those held in 2004 in favour of team events for women at foil and sabre. The 5,600 seat Olympic Green Convention Centre saw victories for seven different countries but none more popular than that of the host nation’s Zhong Man who was the first Chinese male fencer to win Olympic gold.

The achievement of the Games came from Valentina Vezzali who successfully defended the foil title she had won in both Sydney and Athens. This helped Italy win the highest total of medals (7) with France coming out on top via the other method of calculation with two golds and two silvers. Another remarkable story came in the women’s sabre where reigning champion Mariel Zagunis led an unprecedented American sweep of the medals.

As in 2004 no fencer managed to take two gold medals. The most successful fencers were Frenchmen Fabrice Jeannet and Nicolas Lopez who each took an individual silver and team gold.