Albert Axelrod | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
February 12, 1921 The Bronx, United States |
| Died |
February 24, 2004 (aged 83) The Bronx, United States |
Albert Axelrod, known as Albie, (February 12, 1921, in The Bronx, New York – February 24, 2004, of a heart attack in The Bronx),[2] was an American foil .[3]
He was the only American men's foil fencer to reach the finals at the world championships until Gerek Meinhardt won the 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]
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.[8]
He was inducted into the USFA Hall of Fame in 1974.[9]
Miscellaneous[]
Axelrod worked as an electrical engineer for the Grumman Corporation.[4]
References[]
- ↑ "Olympics Statistics: Albert Axelrod". databaseolympics.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120223130142/http://www.databaseolympics.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=AXELRALB01. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
- ↑ "Saying Goodbye – Remembering those in the sports world who died in 2004". Sports Illustrated. December 30, 2004. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/scorecard/12/30/2004sports.deaths/index.html. Retrieved November 2, 2007.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 "Albert Axelrod". Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071010054638/http://www.jewishsports.net/BioPages/AlbertAxelrod.htm. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Martin, Douglas (March 5, 2004). "Albert Axelrod, 83, a Champion in Fencing". New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/05/sports/albert-axelrod-83-a-champion-in-fencing.html. 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. https://books.google.com/books?id=tGcPDXOjxMoC&pg=PA224&dq=%22Jews+and+the+Olympic+Games%22++axelrod&hl=en&ei=WhCaTtGmKIH10gHMvcGcBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Fencing Forum". http://fencingforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1862.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Albert Axelrod Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ax/albie-axelrod-1.html. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
- ↑ "Elected Members". Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070926231145/http://www.jewishsports.net/BioPages/Tables/Sport/Fencing.htm. Retrieved November 2, 2007.
- ↑ Shaw, Andy. "Axelrod, Albert". US Fencing Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 9, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131209112656/http://usfencinghalloffame.com/roll-of-honor/347-axelrod-albert. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
External links[]
The original article can be found at Albert Axelrod and the edit history here.