Albert Axelrod
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Born | The Bronx, United States | February 12, 1921||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | February 24, 2004 The Bronx, United States | (aged 83)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sport | Fencing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Albert "Albie" Axelrod (February 12, 1921 – February 24, 2004)[2] was an American foil fencer.[3]
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.[4]
Fencing career[]
High school[]
Axelrod was Jewish,[5] the son of Russian Jewish immigrants who had fled the pogroms, grew up in the Bronx.[6] 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.[4] After graduation in 1938, he studied with 1920 Olympic champion Giorgio Santelli and won amateur titles as a member of the Salle Santelli club.[7]
College[]
Axelrod served in the US Navy in World War II, and then attended the City College of New York.[4] His college team reached the National Team Foil Championships in 1948, the same year he was U.S. Intercollegiate Fencing Association and NCAA Champion.[3]
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).[3]
World Championships[]
He was a member of the United States World Championship team four times. His best placing was fifth, in 1958.[3]
Olympics[]
Axelrod was on five U.S. Olympic Teams (1952–68).[7] He won the bronze medal in Individual Foil competition at the 1960 Summer Olympics.[3] 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.[8][9]
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.[3]
Maccabiah Games[]
Axelrod, who was Jewish, won many gold and silver medals in his six appearances at the World Maccabiah Games.[3]
Approach to fencing[]
"I have no purely defensive moves", Axelrod told The New York Times 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.[4]
Editor[]
Axelrod was the Editor of "American Fencing" magazine (1986–90).[6]
Hall of Fame inductions[]
Axelrod was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1973.[10]
He was inducted into the USFA Hall of Fame in 1974.[11]
Miscellaneous[]
Axelrod worked as an electrical engineer for the Grumman Corporation.[4]
See also[]
- List of select Jewish fencers
References[]
- ^ "Olympics Statistics: Albert Axelrod". databaseolympics.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
- ^ "Saying Goodbye – Remembering those in the sports world who died in 2004". Sports Illustrated. December 30, 2004. Retrieved November 2, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Albert Axelrod". Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Martin, Douglas (March 5, 2004). "Albert Axelrod, 83, a Champion in Fencing". New York Times. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
- ^ Taylor, Paul (2004). Jews and the Olympic Games: The Clash Between Sport and Politics: With a Complete Review of Jewish Olympic Medallists. Sussex Academic Press. ISBN 9781903900871. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
- ^ a b "Fencing Forum".
- ^ a b "Albert Axelrod Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Vecsey, George (December 2, 2007). "A Righteous Recipe for Longevity" – via The New York Times.
- ^ "Elected Members". Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved November 2, 2007.
- ^ Shaw, Andy. "Axelrod, Albert". US Fencing Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 9, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
External links[]
- 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
- 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
- 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