Gérard Lefranc (; 7 May 1935 – 23 June 2025) was a French fencer. He became the champion of the French Armed Forces in 1957 and subsequently won medals at many competitions. An

épée The (, ; ), also rendered as epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains a ...

fencer, he was a national champion and also won several team titles. As a member of the French national team, he won four medals at the

World Fencing Championships The World Fencing Championships is an annual competition in fencing organized by the International Fencing Federation. Contestants may participate in Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre events. History The FIE first organiz ...

, including a gold in 1962. He also competed in the team épée event 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 ...

, but failed to medal. Later in life he ran his family's industrial business.

Biography

Lefranc was born on 7 May 1935 in

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

, France. After

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 ...

, he began competing in

fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

at Jean-Jaurès high school in Calais. He trained further while at the École nationale professionelle, learning under Master Henri. A member of the Calais Fencing Club, he performed well in local competitions and was later invited to the French military national team by 1957. As a member of Calais, he was a five-time Northern France champion in the team

event while being a three-time Northern France champion in the individual épée. Lefranc was the champion of the French Armed Forces in 1957, national champion in the épée, and helped the French team win the 1957 international military championship. He contributed to France's team bronze medal at the

1958 World Fencing Championships The 1958 World Fencing Championships were held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a fe ...

and won another bronze in the team event at the 1959 World Fencing Championships. At the national championships, Lefranc won team titles in 1960, 1961, 1964 and 1966, while winning the national épée title in 1961, placing third in 1958 and 1962, and second in 1965. He participated in the team épée event for France at the 1960 Summer Olympics, but the team was defeated by Switzerland in the second round and thus did not medal. In 1961, he won silver in the team event at the 1961 World Fencing Championships and also defeated Giuseppe Delfino, reigning Olympic champion, for the title at the New York Fencing Club championship. He then was part of the French team that won the gold medal at the 1962 World Fencing Championships, and two years later, he won silver in the individual event at the European Cup. Lefranc later retired to run his family's business, which provided industrial parts for power transmission. He also "fell in love with carnival" and "found a place for himself in the carnival-goers". Standing at over , he was known locally as the "Green Giant". He was honored as a knight of the

Ordre national du Mérite The (; ) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ...

. On 10 September 2017, his fencing club renovated their fencing hall and named it in his honor. He died on 23 June 2025, at the age of 90.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lefranc, Gerard 1935 births 2025 deaths 20th-century French sportsmen Fencers at the 1960 Summer Olympics French male épée fencers Olympic fencers for France Sportspeople from Calais