Date | 29 November 1956 |
---|---|
Status | Olympic |
Location | Town Hall, St. Kilda, Victoria |
Participants | 23 from 11 countries |
For the first time since 1932 no previous Olympic champion appeared in this event. Reigning champion Irene Camber-Corno was expecting a baby whilst Ilona Elek-Schacherer was withdrawn from the Games by the Hungarian authorities after qualifying for the team at the age of 50.
The surprise of the event and of all the fencing competitions was Britain’s Gillian Sheen. Sheen had been national champion since 1951 but had never been more than a fringe contender at the highest level. She started well at the first round stage but struggled at the semi-final stage and only claimed two wins out of five. Sheen had to survive a barrage against world champion Lidia Dömölky to reach the final pool. The Briton lost her opening match to Olga Orban-Szabo of Romania but then went on a run of six victories, mostly nail-bitingly close, that left her level with the Romania on top of the group table. Sheen then avenged two previous losses to Orban to win the gold medal bout.
In the excitement of the victory, the British team manager rushed out to congratulate her, tripped and only narrowly avoided being impaled on her sword. Her win was so surprising that no British journalist thought it worth covering the event.
Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gillian Sheen | GBR | Gold | ||
2 | Olga Orban | ROU | Silver | ||
3 | Renée Garilhe | FRA | Bronze | ||
4 | Jan Romary | USA | |||
5 | Kate Delbarre | FRA | |||
6 | Karen Lachmann | DEN | |||
7 | Ellen Müller-Preis | AUT | |||
8 | Bruna Colombetti-Peroncini | ITA | |||
5 p1 r2/3 | Emma Yefimova | URS | |||
5 p2 r2/3 | Lidia Dömölky | HUN | |||
6 p1 r2/3 | Maxine Mitchell | USA | |||
6 p2 r2/3 | Pilar Roldán | MEX | |||
5 p1 r1/3 | Velleda Cesari | ITA | |||
5 p2 r1/3 | Ecaterina Orb | ROU | |||
5 p3 r1/3 | Valentina Rastvorova | URS | |||
6 p1 r1/3 | Mary Glen-Haig | GBR | |||
6 p2 r1/3 | Nadezhda Shitikova | URS | |||
6 p3 r1/3 | Judy Goodrich | USA | |||
7 p1 r1/3 | Denise O'Brien | AUS | |||
7 p2 r1/3 | Régine Veronnet | FRA | |||
7 p3 r1/3 | Magda Nyári-Kovács | HUN | |||
8 p2 r1/3 | Lois Joseph | AUS | |||
8 p3 r1/3 | Joy Hardon | AUS |
Top four finishers in each pool advanced to semi-finals.
Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | TD | TR | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Maxine Mitchell | USA | 5 | 21 | 15 | |||
2 | Emma Yefimova | URS | 4 | 21 | 10 | |||
3 | Lidia Dömölky | HUN | 4 | 19 | 14 | |||
4 | Kate Delbarre | FRA | 3 | 17 | 14 | |||
5 | Velleda Cesari | ITA | 3 | 17 | 17 | |||
6 | Mary Glen-Haig | GBR | 2 | 12 | 21 | |||
7 | Denise O'Brien | AUS | 0 | 8 | 24 |
Bout #1 | Kate Delbarre | FRA | 4 – 2 | Velleda Cesari | ITA |
Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | TD | TR | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jan Romary | USA | 5 | 23 | 17 | |||
2 | Ellen Müller-Preis | AUT | 5 | 22 | 19 | |||
3 | Bruna Colombetti-Peroncini | ITA | 4 | 25 | 19 | |||
4 | Pilar Roldán | MEX | 4 | 22 | 23 | |||
5 | Ecaterina Orb | ROU | 3 | 18 | 18 | |||
6 | Nadezhda Shitikova | URS | 3 | 21 | 22 | |||
7 | Régine Veronnet | FRA | 3 | 22 | 23 | |||
8 | Lois Joseph | AUS | 1 | 18 | 29 |
Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | TD | TR | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gillian Sheen | GBR | 6 | 27 | 10 | |||
2 | Olga Orban | ROU | 5 | 21 | 17 | |||
3 | Renée Garilhe | FRA | 5 | 24 | 19 | |||
4 | Karen Lachmann | DEN | 4 | 21 | 20 | |||
5 | Valentina Rastvorova | URS | 3 | 22 | 21 | |||
6 | Judy Goodrich | USA | 3 | 17 | 24 | |||
7 | Magda Nyári-Kovács | HUN | 1 | 15 | 20 | |||
8 | Joy Hardon | AUS | 0 | 12 | 28 |
Top four finishers in each pool advanced to final.
Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | TD | TR | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bruna Colombetti-Peroncini | ITA | 4 | 16 | 2 | |||
2 | Karen Lachmann | DEN | 4 | 16 | 6 | |||
3 | Renée Garilhe | FRA | 3 | 17 | 14 | |||
4 | Ellen Müller-Preis | AUT | 2 | 14 | 12 | |||
5 | Emma Yefimova | URS | 1 | 9 | 17 | |||
6 | Maxine Mitchell | USA | 0 | 2 | 20 |
Bout #1 | Bruna Colombetti-Peroncini | ITA | 4 – 1 | Renée Garilhe | FRA |
Bout #2 | Karen Lachmann | DEN | 4 – 2 | Renée Garilhe | FRA |
Bout #3 | Bruna Colombetti-Peroncini | ITA | 4 – 0 | Ellen Müller-Preis | AUT |
Bout #4 | Karen Lachmann | DEN | 4 – 2 | Ellen Müller-Preis | AUT |
Bout #5 | Renée Garilhe | FRA | 4 – 3 | Ellen Müller-Preis | AUT |
Bout #6 | Bruna Colombetti-Peroncini | ITA | 4 – 1 | Emma Yefimova | URS |
Bout #7 | Karen Lachmann | DEN | 4 – 1 | Emma Yefimova | URS |
Bout #8 | Renée Garilhe | FRA | 4 – 3 | Emma Yefimova | URS |
Bout #9 | Ellen Müller-Preis | AUT | 4 – 0 | Emma Yefimova | URS |
Bout #10 | Bruna Colombetti-Peroncini | ITA | 4 – 0 | Maxine Mitchell | USA |
Bout #11 | Karen Lachmann | DEN | 4 – 1 | Maxine Mitchell | USA |
Bout #12 | Renée Garilhe | FRA | 4 – 0 | Maxine Mitchell | USA |
Bout #13 | Ellen Müller-Preis | AUT | 4 – 0 | Maxine Mitchell | USA |
Bout #14 | Emma Yefimova | URS | 4 – 0 | Maxine Mitchell | USA |
Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | TD | TR | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kate Delbarre | FRA | 4 | 18 | 11 | |||
2 | Jan Romary | USA | 3 | 15 | 13 | |||
3 | Olga Orban | ROU | 3 | 15 | 14 | |||
4 | Gillian Sheen | GBR | 2 | 13 | 13 | |||
5 | Lidia Dömölky | HUN | 2 | 15 | 14 | |||
6 | Pilar Roldán | MEX | 1 | 8 | 19 |
Bout #1 | Jan Romary | USA | 4 – 2 | Kate Delbarre | FRA |
Bout #2 | Kate Delbarre | FRA | 4 – 3 | Olga Orban | ROU |
Bout #3 | Olga Orban | ROU | 4 – 3 | Jan Romary | USA |
Bout #4 | Kate Delbarre | FRA | 4 – 1 | Gillian Sheen | GBR |
Bout #5 | Gillian Sheen | GBR | 4 – 0 | Jan Romary | USA |
Bout #6 | Olga Orban | ROU | 4 – 2 | Gillian Sheen | GBR |
Bout #7 | Kate Delbarre | FRA | 4 – 2 | Lidia Dömölky | HUN |
Bout #8 | Jan Romary | USA | 4 – 2 | Lidia Dömölky | HUN |
Bout #9 | Lidia Dömölky | HUN | 4 – 0 | Olga Orban | ROU |
Bout #10 | Lidia Dömölky | HUN | 4 – 2 | Gillian Sheen | GBR |
Bout #11 | Kate Delbarre | FRA | 4 – 1 | Pilar Roldán | MEX |
Bout #12 | Jan Romary | USA | 4 – 1 | Pilar Roldán | MEX |
Bout #13 | Olga Orban | ROU | 4 – 1 | Pilar Roldán | MEX |
Bout #14 | Gillian Sheen | GBR | 4 – 1 | Pilar Roldán | MEX |
Bout #15 | Pilar Roldán | MEX | 4 – 3 | Lidia Dömölky | HUN |
Bout #1 | Gillian Sheen | GBR | 4 – 2 | Lidia Dömölky | HUN |
Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | TD | TR | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
=1 | Gillian Sheen | GBR | 6 | 26 | 20 | |||
=1 | Olga Orban | ROU | 6 | 27 | 17 | |||
3 | Renée Garilhe | FRA | 5 | 26 | 14 | |||
4 | Jan Romary | USA | 4 | 21 | 23 | |||
5 | Kate Delbarre | FRA | 3 | 20 | 25 | |||
6 | Karen Lachmann | DEN | 2 | 17 | 20 | |||
7 | Ellen Müller-Preis | AUT | 1 | 20 | 25 | |||
8 | Bruna Colombetti-Peroncini | ITA | 1 | 14 | 27 |
Bout #1 | Gillian Sheen | GBR | 4 – 2 | Olga Orban | ROU |