Albert Axelrod
The Bronx, United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | February 24, 2004 The Bronx, United States | (aged 83)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sport | Fencing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
College team | City College of New York | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Salle Santelli | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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,
College
Axelrod served in the
US Championships and rankings
He was ranked # 1 in the United States in 1955, 1958, 1960, and 1970, and was rated in the top ten 22 times in the years 1942 to 1970. Demonstrating exceptional dominance and skill in a sport where Americans had formerly lacked top competitors, 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
Most notably, Axelrod was on five U.S. Olympic Teams (1952–68).[7] His greatest athletic achievement was winning the bronze medal in Individual Foil competition at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.[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
Personal
Professionally Axlerod worked for the Gruman Corporation as an electrical engineer, but would drive to Manhattan to practice fencing three nights a week. He died of a heart attack at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx on February 24, 2004. He left a wife, Henrietta, one son, and a daughter.[16][4]
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.[17]
He was inducted into the
See also
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.
- 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.
- ISBN 9781903900888.
- ^ Vecsey, George (December 2, 2007). "A Righteous Recipe for Longevity". The New York Times.
- ^ "Jewish Post 20 August 1965 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program". newspapers.library.in.gov.
- ^ "Albert Axelrod". www.jewishsports.net.
- ^ Israel Digest: A Bi-weekly Summary of News from Israel. Israel Office of Information. 1955.
- ^ "History | Maccabi USA". April 14, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-04-14.
- ^ "1969 Maccabiah Games Borack, Micahnik, Axelrod". Museum Of American Fencing.
- ^ "U.S. Team Annexes Men's Track and Field Laurels as Maccabiah Games End; OVER-ALL HONORS GAINED BY ISRAEL Host Team Has 226 Points --Kiwitt, Relay Quartet Help U.S. Tally 197 Heat Bothers Athletes Aussie Takes Title". timesmachine.nytimes.com.
- ^ "Albert Axlerod at 83 was Champion Fencer", Boston Globe, Boston, Massachusetts, pg. 59, 6 March 2004
- ^ "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.