Fencing

Basics
Six individual and four team events are contested in one-day, single-elimination tournaments in three fencing disciplines: foil, epee and sabre.

Events
In 2012, the following individual events will be held:

Men's and women's individual foil
Men's and women's individual epee
Men's and women's individual sabre

The team events rotate from Games to Games. In 2012, the following events will be held:

Men's team foil
Men's team sabre
Women's team foil
Women's team epee

The ExCeL Exhibition Centre will be host to all fencing bouts.

Mariel Zagunis of the United States won her second consecutive Olympic title in women's sabre in 2008.

Weapons
Sabre
The sabre owes its heritage to the Middle Eastern scimitar and the 18th-century cavalry sword.  It is similar to the foil, but weighs slightly less.  It is about one inch shorter, a maximum of 3 feet, 5.3 inches. The steel blade is rectangular, measuring at least 4 millimeters wide and 1.2 millimeters thick, and up to 2 feet, 10.6 inches long. Its flexibility equivalent is between 1.5 and 2.7 inches.

The sabre is a thrusting weapon as well as a cutting weapon. The end of the sabre blade is folded over onto itself, or is made in one piece with a square or rectangular tip measuring between 4 and 6 millimeters. The guard of a sabre is full and convex, with no rim or holes. It must be sized so that it is able to pass through a rectangular gauge measuring 5.5 by 5.9 inches around and 5.9 inches long. The interior of the guard is insulated with insulating paint or a pad. The exterior of the guard, the grip, and the pommel are all completely insulated.

Foil
The modern version of the dueling rapier, the foil is perhaps the best known fencing apparatus. The teaching weapon for the other swords, it has a flexible blade and is used chiefly for thrusting. The maximum length of the entire foil is 3 feet, 6 inches and the maximum allowable weight is 1.1 pounds. The tapering quadrangular blade is made of fine steel and can be no more than three feet. The flexibility equivalent of the blade must measure a minimum of 2.1 inches and a maximum of 3.7 inches. The guard diameter must measure between 3.7 and 4.7 inches.

Epee
The épée (the French word for 'sword') is the descendant of the ancient dueling sword, the rapier. It developed from the dueling weapons of European noblemen.

Average length: 43 inches
Average weight: 1.7 pounds.

The épée has a larger hand guard which must measure less than 5.3 inches in diameter and between 1.1 and 2.1 inches deep. Its steel blade is thicker and triangular, measuring one inch wide on each side. The flexibility equivalent of an epee sword must be between 1.7 and 2.7 inches. It was designed to be effective as a thrusting or stabbing sword.

Beijing recap
The U.S. fencing team did exceptionally well at the 2008 Games. The trio of Mariel Zagunis, Sada Jacobson and Becca Ward went one-two-three in women's sabre, then teamed up to capture bronze in the team event. For Zagunis, it was a repeat of her 2004 title, as she maintained her standing as the only Olympic champion in the event's history. The U.S. women's foil and men's sabre teams also took home surprise silver medals in their events.

Traditionally fencing powers Italy and France did not disappoint. 34-year-old Valentina Vezzali of Italy continued her domination in women's individual foil, winning her third consecutive Olympic title and fifth-career gold medal. The Italians finished atop the medal standings in the sport, garnering seven medals total (one more than the U.S.), two of which were gold. The French and Germans also came away with two gold medals each.