Paul Todd Makler Sr. (October 22, 1920 – May 12, 2022) was an American Olympic foil and épée fencer.

Early and personal life

Makler was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and was Jewish.Bernard Postal, Jesse Silver, Roy Silver
''Encyclopedia of Jews in Sports''.
/ref>"Makler, Paul,"
Jews In Sports.8 August 1952,
''Jewish Post''. He attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, fencing for the University of Pennsylvania Quakers, and

University of Pennsylvania Medical School The Perelman School of Medicine (commonly known as Penn Med) is the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private, Ivy League research university located in Philadelphia. Founded in 1765, the Perelman School of Medicine is the olde ...

, graduating in 1964, became a physician, and practiced

internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

for many years. His sons Paul Makler Jr. and Brooke Makler fenced at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

and 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 ...

, respectively. Makler died in

Los Altos, California Los Altos (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Heights") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 31,625 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Most of the city's growth ...

on May 12, 2022, at the age of 101.

Fencing career

Makler competed in the individual and team

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 ...

events at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

in Helsinki. He won a silver medal in the team foil event at the

1955 Pan American Games The 1955 Pan American Games, officially known as II Pan American Games () and commonly known as Mexico 1955 (), opened on March 12, 1955, at University Stadium in Mexico City, Mexico, in front of a capacity crowd of 100,000 spectators. A total ...

. Makler competed for Salle Csiszar, winning an

Amateur Fencers League of America The Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) was founded on April 22, 1891, in New York City by a group of fencers seeking independence from the Amateur Athletic Union. As early as 1940, the AFLA was recognized by the Fédération Internationale ...

(AFLA) national team épée title with the club in 1956. Makler was President of the American Fencing Association in 1962.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Makler, Paul Sr. 1920 births 2022 deaths 21st-century American Jews American male foil fencers American male épée fencers Olympic fencers for the United States Fencers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Fencers from Philadelphia Jewish épée fencers Jewish foil fencers Jewish American sportspeople University of Pennsylvania alumni Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni American internists Penn Quakers fencers American men centenarians Fencers at the 1955 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in fencing Jewish centenarians 20th-century American sportsmen