| | Event type
Épée, Individual, Men
| Date | 7 – 9 August 1948 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Palace of Engineering, Wembley, London |
| Participants | 66 from 25 countries |
Although Gino Cantone had performed well in the team competition, he was not chosen for the decisive match against France and, as he was not chosen for the individual event, it seemed he would have to settle for an Olympic silver to add to the team bronze he had won at the 1947 World Championships. Fate then intervened as teammate Dario Mangiarotti sustained a foot injury and Cantone was chosen to replace him. Cantone qualified for the final pool easily enough although he was by no means the most impressive of the qualifiers and went on to lose to the two Italian compatriots early in the decisive phase but then something strange happened. As Cantone notched up victories, the rest failed to take advantage of his early defeats and no one else could post better than a 5-4 win loss record. Since he was no more than the 4th or 5th ranked of the Italian fencers, his victory was clearly unexpected as was the silver medal gained by Oswald Zappelli of Switzerland.
Round One (7 August 1948 — 09:00)
Top four finishers in each pool advanced to quarter-finals.
Pool 1
| Jury President | Lewis Cording |  GBR |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Lips |  SUI | 4 | 2 | – | 9 | |||
| 2 | Helmi Abdel Rahman |  EGY | 4 | 2 | – | 12 | |||
| 3 | Raúl Saucedo |  ARG | 3 | 3 | – | 11 | |||
| 4 | Paul Anen |  LUX | 3 | 3 | – | 12 | |||
| 5 | Álvaro Pinto |  POR | 2 | 4 | 14 | 16 | |||
| 6 | Enrique Accorsi |  CHI | 2 | 4 | 12 | 16 | |||
| 7 | Ilmari Vartia |  FIN | 1 | 5 | – | – | |||
| Carlo Agostoni |  ITA | – | – | – | – | ||||
| Sven Thofelt |  SWE | – | – | – | – |
Pool 2
| Jury President | Guglielmo Grinda | ITA |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antonio Villamil | ARG | 6 | 1 | – | – | |||
| 2 | Émile Gretsch | LUX | 4 | 3 | 18 | 11 | |||
| 3 | Nils Sjöblom | FIN | 4 | 3 | 16 | 11 | |||
| 4 | Miguel Biancalana |  BRA | 3 | 4 | – | – | |||
| 5 | Claus Mørch, Sr. |  NOR | 3 | 4 | – | – | |||
| 6 | Albert Wolff |  USA | 3 | 4 | – | – | |||
| 7 | Manuel Chagas | POR | 2 | 5 | – | – | |||
| 8 | Alfonso Ahumada |  COL | 0 | 7 | – | – | |||
| Dario Mangiarotti | ITA | – | – | – | – |
Pool 3
| Jury President | J. Heymann |  FRA |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bert Pelling | GBR | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2 | Rodolphe Spillmann | SUI | 5 | 1 | |||
| 3 | Charles Debeur |  BEL | 3 | 2 | |||
| 4 | Vito Simonetti | ARG | 2 | 4 | |||
| 5 | Emilio Meraz |  MEX | 2 | 4 | |||
| 6 | Georges Pouliot |  CAN | 2 | 4 | |||
| 7 | Ignacio Goldstein | CHI | 0 | 6 | |||
| Mogens Lüchow |  DEN | – | – | ||||
| Edoardo Mangiarotti | ITA | – | – |
Pool 4
| Jury President | Bengt Forssell | SWE |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pál Dunay |  HUN | 6 | 1 | 9 | |||
| 2 | Alf Horn | CAN | 6 | 1 | 13 | |||
| 3 | Charles de Beaumont | GBR | 5 | 2 | – | |||
| 4 | Jean Radoux | BEL | 3 | 4 | – | |||
| 5 | Fortunato Camargo | BRA | 3 | 4 | – | |||
| 6 | Jan Nawrocki |  POL | 3 | 4 | – | |||
| 7 | Ioannis Karamazakis |  GRE | 1 | 6 | – | |||
| 8 | Francisco Valero | MEX | 0 | 7 | – | |||
| Raymond Stasse | BEL | – | – | – | ||||
| Miguel Valderrama | COL | – | – | – | ||||
| Konstantinos Bembis | GRE | – | – | – | ||||
| Bengt Ljungquist | SWE | – | – | – |
Pool 5
| Jury President | Max Duterque | FRA |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oswald Zappelli | SUI | 5 | 1 | – | – | |||
| =2 | Antonio Haro | MEX | 3 | 3 | – | 12 | |||
| =2 | Ron Parfitt | GBR | 3 | 3 | – | 12 | |||
| 4 | Andreas Skotidas | GRE | 3 | 3 | – | 13 | |||
| 5 | Raoul Henkart | BEL | 2 | 4 | – | 13 | |||
| 6 | Béla Mikla | HUN | 2 | 4 | – | 15 | |||
| 7 | Rajmund Karwicki | POL | 1 | 5 | – | – | |||
| Frank Cervell | SWE | – | – | – | – |
Pool 6
| Jury President | J. de A. Machado | POR |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Egill Knutzen | NOR | 5 | 1 | 4 | |||
| 2 | Roland Asselin | CAN | 5 | 2 | 13 | |||
| 3 | Imre Hennyei | HUN | 4 | 3 | 13 | |||
| 4 | Emiliano Camargo | COL | 4 | 3 | 15 | |||
| 5 | Erkki Kerttula | FIN | 3 | 4 | 15 | |||
| 6 | Henrique de Aguiar Vallim | BRA | 3 | 4 | 18 | |||
| 7 | Athanasios Nanopoulos | GRE | 2 | 5 | – | |||
| 8 | Fernand Leischen | LUX | 0 | 6 | – | |||
| A. F. Ruiz |  CUB | – | – | – | ||||
| Marcel Desprets | FRA | – | – | – | ||||
| Ioannis Karamazakis | GRE | – | – | – | ||||
| Béla Rerrich | HUN | – | – | – |
Pool 7
| Jury President | Carlo Filogamo | ITA |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe de Capriles | USA | 4 | 0 | – | – | |||
| 2 | Alfred Eriksen | NOR | 2 | 2 | – | 8 | |||
| 3 | Carlos Lamar | CUB | 2 | 2 | – | 9 | |||
| 4 | Mahmoud Younes | EGY | 1 | 3 | – | – | |||
| 5 | Carlos Iturri |  PER | 1 | 3 | – | – | |||
| Ib Nielsen | DEN | – | – | – | – | ||||
| Henri Guérin | FRA | – | – | – | – | ||||
| Zygmunt Fokt | POL | – | – | – | – |
Pool 8
| Jury President | Bobby Winton | GBR |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norman Lewis | USA | 4 | 0 | – | – | |||
| 2 | Roelof Hordijk |  NED | 1 | 2 | – | 7 | |||
| 3 | Roberto Mañalich | CUB | 1 | 2 | – | 8 | |||
| 4 | Jean Asfar | EGY | 1 | 3 | – | 9 | |||
| 5 | Emílio Lino | POR | 0 | 4 | – | – | |||
| René Dybkær | DEN | – | – | – | – | ||||
| Henri Lepage | FRA | – | – | – | – | ||||
| Hugo Higueras | PER | – | – | – | – |
Quarter-Finals (7 August 1948 — 15:00)
Top three finishers in each pool advanced to semi-finals. Competitors from nations in the team épée finals were also advanced to quarter-finals.
Pool 1
| Jury President | R. Mercier | FRA |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oswald Zappelli | SUI | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2 | Gino Cantone | ITA | 4 | 2 | |||
| 3 | Emiliano Camargo | COL | 3 | 3 | |||
| 4 | Joe de Capriles | USA | 3 | 3 | |||
| 5 | Alf Horn | CAN | 3 | 3 | |||
| 6 | Nils Sjöblom | FIN | 1 | 5 | |||
| 7 | Andreas Skotidas | GRE | 0 | 6 |
Pool 2
| Jury President | F. Soille | FRA |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlo Agostoni | ITA | 5 | 2 | – | – | |||
| =2 | Miguel Biancalana | BRA | 4 | 3 | – | – | |||
| =2 | Raúl Saucedo | ARG | 4 | 3 | – | – | |||
| 4 | Charles de Beaumont | GBR | 4 | 3 | – | – | |||
| 5 | Frank Cervell | SWE | 3 | 4 | – | 15 | |||
| 6 | Helmi Abdel Rahman | EGY | 3 | 4 | – | 17 | |||
| 7 | Roelof Hordijk | NED | 2 | 4 | – | – | |||
| 8 | Carlos Lamar | CUB | 1 | 5 | – | – |
Pool 3
| Jury President | Sándor Gombos | HUN |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Émile Gretsch | LUX | 5 | 1 | – | – | |||
| 2 | Edoardo Mangiarotti | ITA | 4 | 2 | – | 9 | |||
| 3 | Bengt Ljungquist | SWE | 4 | 2 | – | 13 | |||
| 4 | Antonio Villamil | ARG | 3 | 3 | – | – | |||
| 5 | Bert Pelling | GBR | 2 | 4 | – | 13 | |||
| 6 | Alfred Eriksen | NOR | 2 | 4 | – | 14 | |||
| 7 | Antonio Haro | MEX | 1 | 5 | – | – |
Pool 4
| Jury President | Lewis Cording | GBR |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norman Lewis | USA | 4 | 1 | 9 | |||
| 2 | Marcel Desprets | FRA | 4 | 2 | 11 | |||
| 3 | Charles Debeur | BEL | 4 | 2 | 13 | |||
| 4 | Mogens Lüchow | DEN | 2 | 3 | – | |||
| 5 | Robert Lips | SUI | 1 | 2 | – | |||
| 6 | Vito Simonetti | ARG | 1 | 3 | – | |||
| 7 | Imre Hennyei | HUN | 0 | 5 | – |
Pool 5
| Jury President | J. de A. Machado | POR |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mahmoud Younes | EGY | 4 | 2 | 10 | |||
| 2 | Jean Radoux | BEL | 4 | 2 | 14 | |||
| 3 | Henri Lepage | FRA | 3 | 3 | – | |||
| 4 | Paul Anen | LUX | 3 | 3 | – | |||
| 5 | Ib Nielsen | DEN | 3 | 3 | – | |||
| =6 | Pál Dunay | HUN | 1 | 5 | 17 | |||
| =6 | Rodolphe Spillmann | SUI | 1 | 5 | 17 |
Pool 6
| Jury President | Fernand Thiébaud | SUI |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henri Guérin | FRA | 4 | 1 | 14 | 8 | |||
| 2 | Ron Parfitt | GBR | 4 | 1 | 13 | 8 | |||
| 3 | Egill Knutzen | NOR | 4 | 2 | – | 11 | |||
| 4 | Roberto Mañalich | CUB | 3 | 3 | – | – | |||
| 5 | Jean Asfar | EGY | 2 | 3 | – | 11 | |||
| 6 | Carl Forssell | SWE | 2 | 4 | – | 14 | |||
| 7 | Roland Asselin | CAN | 0 | 5 | – | – |
Semi-Finals (9 August 1948 — 09:00)
Top five finishers in each pool advanced to final.
Pool 1
| Jury President | F. Soille | FRA |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norman Lewis | USA | 6 | 1 | – | – | |||
| 2 | Jean Radoux | BEL | 5 | 3 | – | – | |||
| 3 | Gino Cantone | ITA | 4 | 2 | – | 8 | |||
| 4 | Henri Lepage | FRA | 4 | 2 | – | 9 | |||
| 5 | Carlo Agostoni | ITA | 3 | 4 | – | – | |||
| 6 | Bengt Ljungquist | SWE | 3 | 4 | – | – | |||
| =7 | Egill Knutzen | NOR | 1 | 5 | – | – | |||
| =7 | Raúl Saucedo | ARG | 1 | 6 | – | – | |||
| Emiliano Camargo | COL | 0 | 2 | – | – |
Pool 2
| Jury President | György Rozgonyi | HUN |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ron Parfitt | GBR | 6 | 2 | – | – | |||
| 2 | Henri Guérin | FRA | 5 | 3 | – | – | |||
| =3 | Émile Gretsch | LUX | 4 | 3 | – | – | |||
| =3 | Edoardo Mangiarotti | ITA | 4 | 3 | – | – | |||
| =3 | Oswald Zappelli | SUI | 4 | 4 | – | – | |||
| 6 | Marcel Desprets | FRA | 3 | 5 | – | 18 | |||
| 7 | Miguel Biancalana | BRA | 3 | 5 | – | 19 | |||
| 8 | Charles Debeur | BEL | 3 | 5 | – | 21 | |||
| 9 | Mahmoud Younes | EGY | 1 | 7 | – | – |
Final Pool (9 August 1948 — 15:00)
| Jury President | R. Mercier | FRA |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bouts Won | Bouts Tied | Bouts Lost | TD | TR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gino Cantone | ITA | 7 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 15 | |||
| 2 | Oswald Zappelli | SUI | 5 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 17 | |||
| 3 | Edoardo Mangiarotti | ITA | 5 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 17 | |||
| 4 | Henri Guérin | FRA | 5 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 19 | |||
| 5 | Jean Radoux | BEL | 5 | 0 | 4 | 19 | 20 | |||
| 6 | Henri Lepage | FRA | 4 | 0 | 5 | 19 | 20 | |||
| 7 | Carlo Agostoni | ITA | 4 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 21 | |||
| 8 | Émile Gretsch | LUX | 3 | 0 | 6 | 16 | 22 | |||
| 9 | Norman Lewis | USA | 3 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 24 | |||
| 10 | Ron Parfitt | GBR | 2 | 1 | 6 | 18 | 23 |
Final Pool, Barrage 2-3 (9 August 1948)
| Bout #1 | Oswald Zappelli | SUI | 3 – 0 | Edoardo Mangiarotti | ITA |