The Italians were the first the use the point rather than the edge of the sword for competition, shifting the emphasis from a slashing to a thrusting style. Various changes in fighting style and equipment worked to mold the sport into its modern form. During the 17th century, for example, it became fashionable for men to carry a sword. For convenience, a shorter sword was developed. With that shorter sword, fighters needed only one hand during competition, leaving the other for balance. During this period, duels to the death were used to settle disputes.
In the 1700s, a book of rules and scoring was developed for fencing. With such regulation, fencing earned its title as a sport. Fencing was included in the first Olympic Games in Athens, as Baron Pierre de Coubertin was an avid fan of fencing as well as a fencer himself. During these 1896 Games, the men's foil and sabre events were held, and in 1900, the épée event was added to the Programme. In 1924, the women's foil was added to the Olympic Programme while in these Centennial Olympic Games, women's épée will be competed for the first time.
Also new in 1996 is the fencing qualification system. Countries now were able to qualify at the world championships at one of the four zone tournaments or by the Federation Internationale d'Escrime classification.
This is an official publication of The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Dianna Drayson and Jennifer Knight.
| The volunteer staff of the 1996 Olympic Games totaled 50,152. They worked an estimated 850,000 shifts. |