You may be well versed in the modern sport, but how many of these historical facts did you already know?
1. Fencers don’t really duel anymore … do they?
Well, not anymore. But as recently as the 1924 Olympics, the captain of the Italian foil team and the son of the coach for the Hungarian team entered into a real duel over a scoring controversy. The duel was fought near the Hungarian border with heavy sabres and ended after just two minutes. Supposedly, the Hungarian won by landing a blow to the side of the Italian’s forehead. Thankfully this was not a fight to the death—the duel was stopped but the Italian was temporarily blinded and he required 12 stitches!