Foil, Individual, Women

The women’s foil at the Berlin Olympic harboured more than the usual amount of political significance. The trio of main protagonists were reigning champion Ellen Preis of Austria, 1928 victor Helene Mayer of Germany and European champion Ilona Elek of Hungary. All three were Jewish.

Helene Mayer was the daughter of a Jewish father and a Protestant mother and although she did not implicitly think of herself as being Jewish, this was not enough to shield herself from persecution in Germany after Hitler’s rise to power. With a growing threat by a number of nations to boycott the Games in protest at the actions of the National Socialist government in Germany, it was considered prudent for the German team to include a Jewish athlete in their Olympic team. Mayer, by now resident in California, was invited back home to compete for Germany in Berlin.

The final pool was a close affair. Ilek lost to the second ranked German Hedwig Haß but defeated both Mayer and Preis to post a 6-1 record which was enough to clinch the gold medal. Mayer’s superior record of hits made against hits conceded earned her second place ahead of Preis amongst those with 5 wins with Haß missing out on a chance of gold after an unexpected loss to 7th place finisher Ilona Vargha.

Ilek defended her title in 1948 and, at age 45, won the silver medal in 1952. Preis also returned to the Olympic arena for a further three appearances. Mayer, who was eventually stripped of her German citizenship, settled permanently in California before the outbreak of war but later returned to Germany where she died of cancer in 1952.