Emil Schön

Emil Schön was the German national champion in men’s individual épée in 1914 and then, in the first championships after World War I, won the men’s individual foil title in 1920. He fenced for FC Hermannia Frankfurt, which had been founded in Frankfurt am Main in 1873 and was the most successful fencing club at the German national championships in the period before World War II.

Schön competed in three consecutive Olympic Games from 1906-12. In 1906 in Athina he won the gold medal with the German sabre team, the first time Germany won an international title in fencing. He also finished fourth in the individual sabre, three hits; came in fifth with the épée team and in the individual épée, and was eliminated early in individual foil and individual sabre. Two years later in London he competed in the individual sabre and épée with limited results. In Stockholm in 1912 he reached the semifinals with the épée and sabre teams, but did not reach the semifinals of the individual foil and épée.