Fencing at the 2024 Summer Olympics
Paris 2024 fencing featured 212 fencers across twelve medal events.
The fencing events at the 2024 Summer Olympics took place from July 27 to August 4 at the Grand Palais strip. There were 212 fencers, split evenly between men and women, competing for medals in twelve events. For the second Olympics in a row, both men and women participated in individual and team competitions across all three weapons—foil, épée, and sabre.
Qualification for the Games followed a system similar to Tokyo 2020, with 212 spots available and an equal gender split. National Olympic Committees could send up to eighteen fencers (nine per gender), forming a trio for each team weapon event. About two-thirds of the total spots went to the top-ranked fencers in the FIE Official Ranking from April 3, 2023, to April 1, 2024. The remaining individual places were awarded through four zonal qualifying tournaments in Africa, Asia & Oceania, Europe, and the Americas.
For team events, eight or nine spots were available per weapon. Each team had three fencers. The top four teams in each weapon qualified directly, while the next spots went to the highest-ranked nation from each continental zone (between 5th and 16th place). If a zone had no teams in that ranking range, the top eligible team from any continent took the spot.
Individual events had between 34 and 37 quota places. Team members automatically entered their individual competitions. Six additional places were given based on the FIE Adjusted Official Ranking by continental zone as of April 1, 2024: two each from Europe and Asia & Oceania, and one each from the Americas and Africa. Zonal qualifying tournaments provided four more spots, one per zone, for NOCs without a qualified fencer in a given weapon.
Host nation France reserved six quota places, split between team and individual events, respecting the 18-fencer NOC limit and the 37-fencer cap per weapon individual event. Two additional spots were available under Universality rules for eligible NOCs.
A notable qualification story involved Ukrainian sabre fencer Olga Kharlan. In July 2023, at the World Fencing Championships, she was disqualified for not shaking hands with her defeated Russian opponent, instead offering a blade tap. The FIE had suspended the handshake requirement since July 2020, replacing it with a salute. The next day, IOC President Thomas Bach wrote to Kharlan, expressing empathy and guaranteeing her a spot at the 2024 Olympics.
Quick Facts
- Event
- Fencing
- Games
- 2024 Summer
- Venue
- Grand Palais
- Dates
- 27 July – 4 August 2024
- Competitors
- 212
- Nations
- 52
- Num Events
- 12 (6 men, 6 women)
- Prev
- 2020
- Next
- 2028
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
For individual events, quota places ranged from 34 to 37. Team members automatically entered individual competitions, and six more places were awarded based on the FIE Adjusted Official Ranking by continental zone. Host nation France reserved six quota places, and two spots were available under Universality rules. Notably, Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan was guaranteed a spot by IOC President Thomas Bach after her disqualification at the World Fencing Championships for not shaking hands with a Russian opponent, following a change in FIE rules that had suspended the handshake requirement.
Reader's Guide
The fencing at the 2024 Summer Olympics marked a continuation of gender parity in all weapons, with both men and women competing in individual and team events across foil, épée, and sabre. The competition produced several historic firsts: Eleanor Harvey became the first Canadian to win a fencing medal; Koki Kano became the first Japanese fencer to win an individual gold; Oh Sang-uk won South Korea's first individual gold in men's sabre; Mohamed El-Sayed earned Egypt's first individual medal in men's épée; Farès Ferjani became the first Tunisian man to win a fencing medal; Vivian Kong won Hong Kong's first women's fencing medal; and Manon Brunet won France's first gold in individual women's sabre. Lee Kiefer became the third woman to win consecutive gold in women's individual foil and the first American to win three golds in fencing. Cheung Ka Long became the third man to win consecutive gold in men's individual foil and the first person from Hong Kong to win multiple fencing medals. Lauren Scruggs became the first black woman to win an individual medal in women's foil. In team events, South Korea's men's sabre team became the first non-European country to win three consecutive golds; Japan's men's foil team became the first non-European country to win gold; Japan's women's foil team won their country's first medal in women's fencing; the United States' women's foil team became their country's first to win gold in any team event and the first non-European team to win gold; Ukraine became the first nation to win multiple women's team sabre golds; Italy won its first gold in women's team épée; the Czech Republic won its first medal in men's team épée; and Poland won its first medal in women's team épée.
Did You Know?
- Olga Kharlan was guaranteed a spot in the 2024 Olympics by IOC President Thomas Bach after being disqualified for not shaking hands with a Russian opponent.
- Lee Kiefer became the first American to win three gold medals in fencing.
More in Fencing at the Summer Olympics 1-24
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