Paul Anspach

Paul Anspach, born in Belgium (April 1, 1882 – August 28, 1991), was a Belgian épée and foil fencer.

Anspach, competed in four Olympiads for the Belgian fencing team.

Early life

Anspach began his athletic career as a soccer player.

Fencing career

Olympics

Anspach was captain of the Belgian National Epee team from 1909-1928.

Anspach's first Olympic appearance was at the 1908 London Games, where he competed in both the team and individual epee events. Belgium captured the silver medal in the team competition; Anspach won 10 of his 15 bouts. He then competed in the individual competition, reaching the finals (he won his 2nd round and semifinal pool), where he finished 5th overall.

At the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, he captured gold medals in both the individual and team epee competitions. Among his teammates were his brother Henri Anspach, famed artist Jacques Ochs, and Gaston Salmon. In the individual event, he won 6 of 7 matches to capture the gold (his only loss was to British fencer Edgar Seligman). Anspach also reached the semifinals in the individual foil event, before being eliminated (he finished 12th overall).

Anspach's next Olympic competition was the 1920 Antwerp Games (there were no Olympics in 1916 due to World War I), where he won a silver medal in the team epee competition.

His final Olympiad was the 1924 Paris Games, where he competed in the individual epee and reached the finals, but finished in 9th place. In team epee, Anspach again competed in the finals and Belgium finished in 2nd place, winning the silver medal.

In 1976, Anspach was awarded the Silver Medal of the Olympic Order.

He was a major contributor to the formation of the Belgian Olympic Committee in 1906, and he later served as the president of the International Fencing Association from 1933-1948. He had previously served as its Secretary-General. During World War II, the Association's activity was suspended when the Gestapo removed its files (never to be found).

Links

* [http://www.databaseolympics.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=ANSPAPAU01 Olympic record]
* [http://www.jewsinsports.org/Olympics.asp?sport=olympics&ID=195 Jews in Sports bio]