René Paul
Biographical information
| Roles | Competed in Olympic Games |
|---|---|
| Sex | Male |
| Full name | Ronald René Charles•Paul |
| Used name | René•Paul |
| Born | 20 January 1921 in Paddington, England (GBR) |
| Died | 16 June 2008 in London, England (GBR) |
| Measurements | 174 cm / 76 kg |
| Affiliations | Salle Paul, London (GBR) |
| NOC |  Great Britain |
Biography
The son of a French fencing master who settled in London and started Britain’s most famous fencing dynasty, René Paul won five national titles at foil between 1947 and 1962. He was a member of the British foil team that took the bronze medal at the 1955 World Championships. In addition to his four Olympic appearances he also competed in four Commonwealth Games, winning seven gold medals, two silvers and a bronze between 1950 and 1962, to become the most successful fencer in the history of those Games.
Paul’s sons Graham and Barry followed in their father’s footsteps by becoming both national champions and Olympic representatives. René and his brother Raymond went on to run the family fencing equipment business.
Results
| Games | Discipline (Sport) / Event | NOC / Team | Pos | Medal | As | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 Summer Olympics | Fencing | GBR |
René Paul | |||
| Foil, Individual, Men (Olympic) | 5 p3 r2/4 | |||||
| Foil, Team, Men (Olympic) | Great Britain | =5 | ||||
| 1952 Summer Olympics | Fencing | GBR |
René Paul | |||
| Foil, Individual, Men (Olympic) | 6 p3 r3/4 | |||||
| Foil, Team, Men (Olympic) | Great Britain | 3 p2 r2/4 | ||||
| Épée, Individual, Men (Olympic) | 6 p8 r1/4 | |||||
| Épée, Team, Men (Olympic) | Great Britain | 3 p3 r2/4 | ||||
| 1956 Summer Olympics | Fencing | GBR |
René Paul | |||
| Foil, Individual, Men (Olympic) | 8 p2 r2/3 | |||||
| Foil, Team, Men (Olympic) | Great Britain | =5 | ||||
| Épée, Individual, Men (Olympic) | ||||||
| Épée, Team, Men (Olympic) | Great Britain | 4 | ||||
| Sabre, Team, Men (Olympic) | Great Britain | |||||
| 1960 Summer Olympics | Fencing | GBR |
René Paul | |||
| Foil, Team, Men (Olympic) | Great Britain | =5 |
Olympic family relations
- Brother of Raymond Paul
- Brother-in-law of June Foulds-Paul
- Father of Graham Paul
- Father of Barry Paul
- Uncle of Steven Paul
Special Notes
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the World Fencing Championships (0–0–1 1955 Roma bronze: foil team)
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the British Empire/Commonwealth Games (7–2–1 1950 Auckland FEN gold: foil and team foil, silver: team épée (competed for England); 1954 Vancouver FEN gold: foil, team foil, and team épée, silver: épée (competed for England); 1958 Cardiff FEN gold: team foil, bronze: foil (competed for England); 1962 Perth FEN gold: team foil (competed for England))
Errata
Date of birth is uncertain. Commonwealth Games data also has a DOB of 21 January 1921, but multiple sources confirm the DOB listed above.