Sabre, Individual, Men

Hungarians dominated sabre fencing prior to the 1980s, and this year was no exception. Sándor Gombos had won the World Championships in 1926 and 1927 and was a slight favorite. He made it to the final and fenced well, with eight wins against three losses, but it would only bring him fifth place. The other two Hungarians, Ödön von Tersztyánszky and Attila Petschauer, both won nine bouts and faced each other in a barrage for the gold medal, with von Tersztyánsky winning 5-2. This would be the best sporting moments of what would be too-short lives for both.

Von Tersztyánsky died less than a year later in an automobile accident just outside of Budapest. His death was nothing compared to Petschauer’s. Petschauer was Jewish and during World War II was taken to Davidovka concentration camp in the Ukraine, where he was tortured by the guards. In the freezing mid-winter, he was stripped nude and forced to climb a tree and crow like a rooster while they sprayed him with water. He died shortly thereafter. Petschauer’s death by torture was dramatized in the 1999 movie Sunshine starring Ralph Fiennes.