Arie de Jong

De Jong is without a doubt the best Dutch fencer of all time. An officer in the Dutch army, his fencing career spanned over three decades. He was the first person to compete in six Olympics, and no Dutch competitor has surpassed this total (although Eric Swinkels equalled it in 1996). Although he fenced with all three weapons, he excelled in the sabre, winning the first two World Championships in the event (1922 and 1923) and four of his five Olympic medals. He was close to winning the gold medal in the 1924 Olympic sabre competition, and leading eventual champion Posta (HUN) by three hits when an audience member fell through his chair. This distracted the jury, who failed to see De Jong’s decisive hit. Disrupted, De Jong lost his bout and eventually finished fifth. Between 1910 and 1928, De Jong won 18 Dutch titles – a record number (épée: 9, sabre: 6, foil: 3). Although he did not compete in many events after the Amsterdam Olympics, he did win the épéé event at the Military World Championships in 1936. After retiring from the army as a major (artillery), De Jong (born in the Dutch East Indies) took over management of an Indonesian restaurant in The Hague.