- Byron Krieger
Byron Lester Krieger (born July 20, 1920, in
Detroit, Michigan ) was an Americanfoil ,sabre , and epee fencer. Krieger represented the U.S. in the Olympics in 1952 and 1956.Education
Krieger graduated from
Northwestern High School . He attendedWayne State University inMichigan , and was theNCAA champion in foil in 1942. He was 62-7 in dual meets at WSU, including 30-0 in foil. He was WSU's firstAll-American .Pan American Games
Krieger won
gold medal s in team foil and team sabre at the 1951Pan American Games . He came in 6th in both the individual foil and sabre events. [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/pafc/Pan_American_Games_Results.htm]Olympics
Krieger was a two-time Olympian for the United States in the 1950s.
At the 1952
Helsinki Games, Krieger competed in the team foil event, and the U.S. reached the quarterfinals.At the 1956
Melbourne Olympics, in the individual foil competition, Krieger finished 8th in his first-round pool and was eliminated, while the U.S. team that he was on reached the finals in the team competition. The U.S. finished 4th overall as they lost to France, Hungary, and Italy. Krieger competed in the matches against France and Italy and was the first American fencer to beat the French two-time Olympic champion Christian Doriola. At the World Championships one year, Doriola approached Mrs. Krieger and with typical French flourish kissed her hand. While still holding her hand, he asked her name. "I'm Mrs. Byron Krieger," she replied. A look of horror crossed his face and he immediately dropped her hand stomping angrily away. Among Krieger's teammates at both the 1952 and 1956 Games were International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame membersAlbert Axelrod and Daniel Bukantz.Maccabiah Games
In 1957 Krieger, who is
Jew ish, won the GOLD medal in SABRE and BRONZE in FOIL at theMaccabiah Games .Halls of Fame & Awards
Krieger received the Detroit Sports Guild Outstanding Athlete Award in 1951.
He was elected to the Michigan Amateur Sports Hall of Fame in 1974.
Krieger was inducted into the Wayne State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1976. [http://wsuathletics.cstv.com/genrel/070604aac.html]
He was inducted into the "'The Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame' in 1986 [http://www.michiganjewishsports.org/history.html]
Miscellaneous
*Krieger won 55 State and Midwest titles in all three fencing weapons, including all three weapons in the same year five times.
*Krieger met his wife Jocelyn Ruth while training in
New York City for the 1956 Olympics. In 2008 they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They have six children and 14 grandchildren. Krieger's teen-age grandson is a foil fencer in Massachusetts.Links
* [http://wsuathletics.cstv.com/genrel/070604aac.html Wayne State University Athletic Hall of Fame bio]
* [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/pafc/Pan_American_Games_Results.htm Pan American Game results]
* [http://www.jewsinsports.org/olympics.asp?ID=295 Jews in Sports bio]
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