Fencing at the 1904 Summer Olympics

The 1904 Olympic fencing events were contested in the Physical Culture Gymnasium adjacent to Francis field on 7-8 September 1904. There were five events: foil, sabre, dueling swords (épée), single sticks, and team foil.

There were foreign competitors in the fencing events, both from Cuba and Germany. Germany sent one competitor, Gustav Casmir. The two Cuban fencers were Ramón Fonst and Manuel Díaz. Fonst had competed at the 1900 Olympics in Paris, where he had won the épée and in St. Louis he repeated in that event and also won a gold medal in the foil competition. He also led a mixed Cuban/U.S. team to the championship in the team foil.

The 1904 fencing competitions were not simply United States championships, as the AAU Fencing Championships were held earlier in the year. Thus, with foreign competitors, amateur competition only and events open to all competitors, the fencing events definitely should be considered as part of the Olympic games.

Strangely, although the events were held in the United States and in most sports the best American athletes competed, the best American fencer of that era, Charles Bothner, who had been a multiple national champion in foil, épée and sabre, did not show up in St. Louis to compete.