This event highlighted the singular position of the sport of fencing in the early Olympic movement. In most of the other sports on the program, competitors had to be amateurs. Furthermore, amateur standing was typically lost when one competed against a professional, even if there was no money involved in that particular competition. In fencing, however, professionals were allowed to compete in the Olympics.
The 1900 amateurs-masters épée fencing ...
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This event highlighted the singular position of the sport of fencing in the early Olympic movement. In most of the other sports on the program, competitors had to be amateurs. Furthermore, amateur standing was typically lost when one competed against a professional, even if there was no money involved in that particular competition. In fencing, however, professionals were allowed to compete in the Olympics.
The 1900 amateurs-masters épée fencing event pitted the best amateur épéeists against the best professionals. The top four placers in each of those two events were qualified to compete in the open event, which consisted of a single round-robin tournament with single-touch bouts. The gold medal in the event was taken by a master, but the next three places all went to amateurs.
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