Paul Eugène Albert Anspach (1 April 1882 – 28 August 1981) was a Belgian

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 ...

and

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 who competed in four consecutive Olympics (1908, 1912, 1920 and 1924). His grand-uncle, Jules Anspach (1829-1879), was Brussels burgomaster.

Early life

Paul Anspach began his athletic career as a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player. He was a member of the

Anspach family The Anspach family is a Belgian noble family, established in Brussels at the beginning of the 19th century. It comes from the Republic of Geneva, from which they acquired the bourgeoisie in 1779. Before that, they originated from Schwabenheim ( ...

. He died in his sleep in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Belgium on 28 August 1981.

Fencing career

Olympics

Anspach was captain of the Belgian épée team from 1909 to 1928. At the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

, he won a

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

in the team épée event and placed 5th overall in individual épée. In the sabre competition, he was stopped in the 2nd round. At the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...

, he captured

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

s in both the individual and team épée competitions. In the individual event, he won 6 of his 7 matches. He finished in 12th place in the individual foil event. The Olympics were not held in 1916 because of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. At the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...

, Anspach won a silver medal in the team épée competition. In the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

, he won a silver medal in team épée and finished 9th overall in individual épée. In 1951, Anspach became the first recipient of the ''Taher Pacha Trophy'' (founded in 1950 by H.E. Mohammed Taher Pacha, a member of the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...

for Egypt. It is to be awarded annually by the IOC to an Athlete whose "general merit and career justify the award of a special distinction in the name of Olympism.") In 1976, Anspach was awarded the Silver Medal of the

Olympic Order The Olympic Order, established in 1975, is the highest award of the Olympic Movement. It is awarded for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement, i.e. recognition of efforts worthy of merit in the cause of sport. Tradit ...

. For the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

in Montreal, the ''Comités d'organisation des Jeux Olympiques'' (COJO) invited Anspach to take part in the ceremony for the transmission of the Flame from

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

. His doctors felt that the journey from Brussels to Athens and back would be too tiring for the ninety-year-old Belgian, who said he was "honored and moved by this very special invitation".

Belgian Olympic Committee and International Fencing Association

He contributed to the formation of the

Belgian Olympic Committee Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

in 1906. In 1913, he was one of the founders of the

Fédération Internationale d'Escrime The International Fencing Federation (''Fédération Internationale d'Escrime'') commonly known by the acronym FIE, is the international Sport governing body, governing body of Olympic Games, Olympic fencing. Today, its head office is at th ...

(International Fencing Association, or FIE). He served as its Secretary-General, before serving as its President from 1932 until 1939 (when it was suspended for the duration of

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 from 1946 until 1950. In 1914, he sat as Secretary at the Paris Olympic Congress, where he dealt with the technical side of the Congress. In 1914, along with the Marquess of Chasseloup-Laubat he drew up the rules for Fencing as an Olympic sport.

References

External links