Lucien Gaudin

With four gold and two silver medals at the Olympic Games 1920-28 Lucien Gaudin was the most successful French fencer of the pre-war era. He studied with the fencing masters Paul Carrichon and Lucien Mérignac, participants in the 1900 Olympics. In 1928 Gaudin won both the individual foil and épée. His career spanned 25 years, from 1904-29. In 1905 he won the International Championship, the predecessor of the World Championships, which he repeated in 1918. In 1921 he was the first European Champion with the épée and won the French title with that weapon in 1905, adding French foil titles in 1906 and 1910-13. He later became a journalist and co-owner of the company Les Films Sportifs that produced the 1924 Olympic film. His company went bankrupt in 1934 and Gaudin took his life four days before his 49th birthday.