Albert "Albie" Axelrod (February 12, 1921 – February 24, 2004) was an American foil fencer. He was a five-time Olympian for the US, won a bronze medal at the 1960 Olympics, and was the only American men's foil fencer to reach the finals at the world championships until Gerek Meinhardt won a bronze medal in the 2010 World Fencing Championships.

Fencing career

High school

Axelrod was Jewish, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants who had fled the pogroms, grew up in the Bronx. A heart murmur kept Axelrod from participating in most sports, so his mother encouraged him to learn fencing at Stuyvesant High School in New York City. After graduation in 1938, he studied with 1920 Olympic champion Giorgio Santelli and won amateur titles as a member of the Salle Santelli club.

College

Axelrod served in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and then attended the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

. His college team reached the National Team Foil Championships in 1948, the same year he was U.S. Intercollegiate Fencing Association and NCAA Champion.

US Championships and rankings

Axelrod was ranked # 1 in the United States in 1955, 1958, 1960, and 1970. He was in the top ten 22 times in the years 1942 to 1970. He was a five-time winner of the National Foil Team Championship (1940, 1950, 1952, 1954, and 1958), and his team won the National Three-Weapon team crown five times (1949, 1952, 1954, 1962, and 1963).

World Championships

He was a member of the United States World Championship team four times. His best placing was fifth, in 1958.

Olympics

Axelrod was on five U.S. Olympic Teams (1952–68). He won the bronze medal in Individual Foil competition at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

. The entire USA Foil Fencing Team at the 1956 Olympics was Jewish, with the other Jewish fencers being Daniel Bukantz, Harold Goldsmith, Nathaniel Lubell, and Byron Krieger.

Pan American Games

He was also a member of four U.S. Pan American Games teams. He won three team gold medals, one team silver, and four individual silvers in Foil.

Maccabiah Games

Axelrod, who was Jewish, won many gold and silver medals in foil and sabre in his six appearances at the World Maccabiah Games in Israel, including the

1957 Maccabiah Games Twenty-one countries sent 980 athletes to compete in the 1957 5th Maccabiah Games, an international Jewish athletics competition similar to the Olympics. The opening ceremony on September 15, 1957, was held in Ramat Gan Stadium, with athletes parad ...

(where he won the gold medal in foil), the

1961 Maccabiah Games The 6th Maccabiah Games were held in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1961, with 1,100 athletes from 27 countries competing in 18 sports. The Games were officially opened in an Opening Ceremony on August 29, 1961, in Ramat Gan Stadium by Israeli President ...

(in which he won a gold medal in individual foil, and a gold medal in team foil with Olympic teammate Byron Krieger), the 1965 Maccabiah Games in foil, and the

1969 Maccabiah Games At the 8th Maccabiah Games from July 29 to August 7, 1969, 1,450 athletes from 27 countries competed in 22 sports in Israel. The final gold medal count was the United States in first place (64), Israel second (48; though it won the greatest numbe ...

Approach to fencing

"I have no purely defensive moves", Axelrod told ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' in 1966. "Everyone attributes my skill to the fact that I'm a physical freak, that I have tremendously fast reflexes. I'm not a natural athlete. When it comes to fencing, I'm completely synthetic. I had to practice arduously and break down into tiny components every move I make.''

Editor

Axelrod was the Editor of "American Fencing" magazine (1986–90).

Hall of Fame inductions

Axelrod was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1973. He was inducted into the USFA Hall of Fame in 1974.

Miscellaneous

Axelrod worked as an electrical engineer for the Grumman Corporation.

References

External links

Pan Am Game resultsObituary in "The Sunday Times," 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Axelrod, Albert 1921 births 2004 deaths American male foil fencers Fencers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1968 Summer Olympics CCNY Beavers fencers Jewish American sportspeople Jewish male foil fencers Jewish male sabre fencers Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in fencing Stuyvesant High School alumni United States Navy sailors International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductees Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from the Bronx American people of Russian-Jewish descent United States Navy personnel of World War II Competitors at the 1957 Maccabiah Games Competitors at the 1961 Maccabiah Games Competitors at the 1965 Maccabiah Games Competitors at the 1969 Maccabiah Games Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States Maccabiah Games silver medalists for the United States Maccabiah Games medalists in fencing Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in fencing Fencers at the 1955 Pan American Games Fencers at the 1959 Pan American Games Fencers at the 1963 Pan American Games Fencers at the 1967 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews