Fencing at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Lore & Background

The International Fencing Federation maintained the format of ten events with a rotation system for team events, similar to 2008 and 2012. As a result, the men's team sabre and the women's team foil were dropped from the program only at these Games. Qualification was primarily based on the FIE official rankings as of 4 April 2016, with further individual places available at four zonal qualifying tournaments.

Reader's Guide

The 2016 fencing competitions continued the rotation system for team events that had been in place since 2008, ensuring that not all team disciplines appeared at every Olympics. This meant that men's team sabre and women's team foil were absent from the Rio program. The event featured an equal number of male and female fencers, reflecting ongoing efforts toward gender balance in Olympic sport. Brazil, as the host nation, fielded eight fencers. The qualification process relied heavily on the FIE rankings from April 2016, supplemented by zonal tournaments. These Games were held at Carioca Arena 3, a venue within the Barra Olympic Park. The competition spanned nine days in August 2016.

Did You Know?

• The fencing competitions took place from 6 to 14 August at Carioca Arena 3.
• Around 212 fencers competed, with an equal distribution between men and women.
• Eight fencers came from the host nation Brazil.