Yves Dreyfus

French fencer (1931–2021)

Yves Dreyfus

Yves Dreyfus (1963)

Personal information
Full name| Yves Jean Jacques Dreyfus[1]
Nickname| aka Yves Doucet
Nationality| French
Born| (1931-05-17)17 May 1931
Clermont-Ferrand, France
Died| 16 December 2021(2021-12-16) (aged 90)
Ceyrat, Puy-de-Dôme France
Height| 179 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight| 67 kg (148 lb) (Olympics)
Spouse| Marie Lise Levy[1]
Sport
Sport| Fencing
Event| épée

Medal record

Men's fencing
Representing  France
Men's fencing[2]
Olympic Games
| 1956 Melbourne | Epee team
| 1964 Tokyo | Epee team
Maccabiah Games
| 1961 Israel | Individual Epee
| 1977 Israel | Individual Epee
| 1977 Israel | Team Epee
Mediterranean Games
| 1963 Naples | Individual épée

Yves Dreyfus (17 May 1931 – 16 December 2021) was a French epee fencer who won two bronze medals as part of the French Olympic épée team, one in 1956 and one in 1964.[3]

## Life and career

[edit]

Dreyfus was born in Clermont-Ferrand, France, to Raoul Andre Dreyfus and Nelly Caroline Haas on May 17, 1931, and was Jewish.[4][5][6][7][8] He survived the Nazi occupation of France as a child despite being Jewish by taking the name Yves Doucet. In 1955, he was married to Marie Lise Levy.[9][1]

### Olympics

[edit]

Dreyfus was a three-time Olympian for France and won two bronze medals in épée, one in 1956 and one in 1964, competing well but not medaling in 1960.[10]

#### 1956

[edit]

At the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne at the age of 25 he won a bronze medal in team épée.[5] The French Team defeated Great Britain, but lost to Hungary and Italy.[citation needed]

#### 1960

[edit]

Though making a good showing, at the 1960 Olympics in Rome at the age of 29 he came in 6th in individual épée but was eliminated in the final round, though he survived the first, and second rounds, as well as the quarter finals, semi-finals and finals. Italian Giuseppe Delfino took the gold in epee, and Alan Jay of Britain the silver. American Albert Axelrod, another Jewish competitor but in Foil, won the bronze in individual competition that year. Dreyfus tied for 9th with the French épée team, putting him out of medal contention.[5][11]

#### 1964

[edit]

At the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo at the age of 33 he fenced in the individual épée and won a bronze medal in the team épée.[5][12] The French epee team defeated Germany in the Quarter Finals, but lost to Hungary 9-3 in the semi-finals. 1960's fencing power Hungary took the team gold with frequent rival Italy the silver.[13]

### World championships

[edit]

He took an individual bronze in the 1954 World Championships in Luxembourg, taking a total of nine medals in those games.[11] In 1962, he took a bronze individual medal in the World Championships in Buenos Aires.[citation needed] In July 1963, he took a silver medal in the individual épée competition at World Championships at Gdansk, Poland, narrowly defeating Couram Kostava of Russia. At only 19, Romand Locert of Austria won the individual epee gold.[14][15]

He took team medals in the World Championships, fencing in épée, securing Gold in 1962, 1965, and 1966, and taking silver in 1961, 1963 and 1967.[11] In 1965 at the Paris Worlds, he defeated Henry Hoskyns of Great Britain in the final epee match to help lead his team to the gold, with the British team taking the silver, and the Russian team the bronze.[16]

### Mediterranean Games, French nationals

[edit]

He won a gold medal at the 1963 Mediterranean Games in the individual épée event.[17] In 1964, he won the French national championship in épée.[18]

### Maccabiah Games

[edit]

He won a gold medal in individual épée at the 1961 Maccabiah Games.[18] He competed for France at the 1965 Maccabiah Games.[19][20] He won gold medals in both individual epee and team epee at the 1977 Maccabiah Games.[18]

## Honors

[edit]

In 1966, he was decorated by General Charles de Gaulle.[9] In 1967, he was given the National Order of Merit by the French Council of Ministers.[21] He later became a Master of Arms.[22]

In 2017, he received the Fair Play Award from Alain Calmat, given by the French Association for Sport Without Violence and For Fair Play. Calmat was a Jewish Olympic Figure Skater and World Champion, and lived a life of public service.[23]

Dreyfus died on 16 December 2021, at the age of 90 in Ceyrat, Puy-de-Dôme, France.[24][11] He wrote three books on fencing in his career, and participated in Masters Fencing as late as 2001.[11]

## See also

[edit]

* List of select Jewish fencers
* List of Jewish Olympic medalists

## Further reading

[edit]

* "Fencing: World Championships: Men: Epee". Sports 123. Archived from the original on October 12, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
* "x". Retrieved April 29, 2010.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Family Tree of Yves Dreyfus". Geneastar. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
2. ^ "Olympics Statistics: Yves Dreyfus". databaseolympics.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2010-10-16.
3. ^ "Yves Dreyfus Biography and Olympic Results | Olympics at". Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
4. ^ Yves Dreyfus - Auteur - Ressources de la Bibliothèque nationale de France
5. ^ a b c d Yves Dreyfus Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com
6. ^ Day by Day in Jewish Sports History \- Bob Wechsler
7. ^ Encyclopedia of Jews in Sports \- Bernard Postal, Jesse Silver, Roy Silver
8. ^ Jews and the Olympic Games: sport: a springboard for minorities \- Paul Yogi Mayer
9. ^ a b "Yves Dreyfus et escrime"
10. ^ Yves DREYFUS - Olympic Fencing | France
11. ^ a b c d e "Yves Dreyfus". Olympedia. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
12. ^ Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice
13. ^ "Fencing: 1960 Olympic Results - Men's team épée". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 2010-09-09. Retrieved 2010-12-08.
14. ^ "Wins Fencing Title", The Sault Star, Sault, St. Marie, Ontario, pg. 16, 25 July 1963
15. ^ "Fencing, Austrian Takes Gold Medal", The Daily Telegraph, London, Greater London, England, pg. 9, 25 July 1963
16. ^ "French Down English For Epee Crown", Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, pg. 156, 11 July 1965
17. ^ "Olympedia – Yves Dreyfus". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
18. ^ a b c Dreyfus, Yves : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum
19. ^ The Times from Shreveport, Louisiana on August 22, 1965 · Page 41
20. ^ Jewish Post 12 March
21. ^ The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle from Milwaukee, Wisconsin on September 29, 1967 · Page 17
22. ^ Succès renouvelé pour le tournoi à l’épée - Cournon-d'Auvergne (63800) - La Montagne
23. ^ "Yves Dreyfus Receives the Fair Play Award". Stade Clermontois. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
24. ^ Yves Dreyfus' obituary (in French)

## External links

[edit]

* Jews in Sports bio
* Jewish Olympic Medalists
* List of Jewish Fencers

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* France
* BnF data