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WorldNet Service Installation Disk - Cybercathlon Games and Interactive Tour of Olympic Museum (1996).ISO
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00811_Field_st14.txt.txt
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1996-06-03
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The first record of fencing was
found on a relief in an Egyptian
temple built near Luxor in 1190
B.C. Fencing was one of the
earliest sports regulated by rules,
both theoretical and practical.
Spain, France and Italy share the
claim of creating modern fencing.
The techniques and styles used
by today's fencers were set
down hundreds of years ago.
The epee was developed early in
the 16th century and has been
modified only slightly since. One
hundred years later, the light
weight foil came into use. It took
another hundred years before the
introduction of the sabre. The foil
and epee are thrust weapons --
that is, hits can be scored only
with the point. The sabre is a
cut-and-thrust weapon, with a
light, straight blade.
Fencing was introduced at the
very first modern Olympics, where
both amateurs and professionals
were allowed to compete. While
the French and Italians dominated
fencing, especially the foil event,
in the first half of the 20th century,
the Eastern Europeans began to
dominate after 1960. Women to
this day compete only in the foil
events.
The use of electronic scoring
equipment, which indicates hits on
the target areas by a system of
lights, has been an important
innovation in the sport. The U.S.
has never won a Gold in any
fencing event at the Olympics.