Albert "Albie" Axelrod (February 12, 1921 – February 24, 2004) was an American

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ma ...

fencer. He was a five-time Olympian for the US, won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

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, and grew up in the Bronx. A heart murmur kept him from participating in most sports, so his mother encouraged him to learn fencing at

Stuyvesant High School Stuyvesant High School ( ) is a co-ed, State school, public, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in Manhattan, New York City. The school, commonly called "Stuy" ( ) by its students, faculty, a ...

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 naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

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

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Champion.

US Championships and rankings

He was ranked # 1 in the United States in 1955, 1958, 1960, and 1970, and was rated in the top ten 22 times in the years 1942 to 1970. Demonstrating exceptional dominance and skill in a sport where Americans had formerly lacked top competitors, 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

Most notably, Axelrod was on five U.S. Olympic Teams (1952–68). His greatest athletic achievement was winning the

in Individual

Foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ma ...

competition at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

in Rome. 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 Byron Lester Krieger (July 20, 1920 – November 8, 2015) was an American Foil (fencing), foil, sabre and épée Fencing, fencer. Krieger represented the United States in the Olympics in 1952 in Helsinki and 1956 in Melbourne, and in the 1951 Pa ...

Pan American Games

He was also a member of four U.S.

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

teams. He won three team gold medals, one team silver, and four individual silvers in Foil.

Maccabiah Games

Axelrod, who was

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish, won many gold and silver medals in foil and sabre in his six appearances at the World

Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics") is an international multi-sport event with summer and winter sports competitions featuring Jews and Israelis regardless of religion ...

in Israel, including the 1957 Maccabiah Games (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 Yi ...

(in which he won a gold medal in individual foil, and a gold medal in team foil with Olympic teammate

), the 1965 Maccabiah Games in foil, and the 1969 Maccabiah Games.

Personal

Professionally Axlerod worked for the Gruman Corporation as an electrical engineer, but would drive to Manhattan to practice fencing three nights a week. He died of a heart attack at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx on February 24, 2004. He left a wife, Henrietta, one son, and a daughter."Albert Axlerod at 83 was Champion Fencer", ''Boston Globe'', Boston, Massachusetts, pg. 59, 6 March 2004

Approach to fencing

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

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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.

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 foil fencers Jewish sabre fencers Jews from New York (state) 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 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 1955 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in fencing Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in fencing 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American sportsmen