Endre Kabos
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| Olympic medal record | |||
Competitor for  Hungary |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Fencing | |||
| Bronze | 1932 Los Angeles | Individual sabre | |
| Gold | 1932 Los Angeles | Team sabre | |
| Gold | 1936 Berlin | Individual sabre | |
| Gold | 1936 Berlin | Team sabre | |
Endre Kabos (November 5, 1906 - November 4, 1944), born in Nagyvárd, Hungary, was a Hungarian sabre fencer.
Contents |
[edit] Fencing career
Kabos began fencing after receiving a fencing outfit as a birthday present. Although he hid the outfit in his wardrobe, a friend found it and teased him. The following day, he enrolled in a fencing club just to spite his friend. He went on to become one of the world's greatest fencers in the 1930s.
[edit] Slovakian Championship
Kabos gained national prominence in 1928 when he won the Individual Sabre gold medal at the Slovakian Championships.
[edit] European Championships
In 1930, he took the Individual silver medal at the European Championships.
Kabos won European individual gold medals in individual sabre in 1933 and 1934; and team gold medals in 1931, 1933, 1934, and 1935. Among his teammates were Attila Petschauer and Sándor Gombos. (In 1937, the European Championships were renamed the ‘World Championships.’)
Kabos was more economically challenged than most of his top level Hungarian fencing compatriots. Following the Hungarian team’s triumph at the 1934 Europeans, Kabos retired from competition to open a grocery store. Through the good graces of a patron, however, he was able to resume his fencing career and lead Hungary to its 1935 Euro Team title (and a pair of 1936 Olympic gold medals).
[edit] Olympics
He won four Olympic medals for Hungary.
At the 1932 Los Angeles Games, he won a gold medal in the team competition. Hungary defeated the United States (13-3), Italy (9-2), and Poland (9-1) in the finals. Kabos also won the bronze medal in the individual sabre competition.
Kabos returned to the Olympics at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and dominated the competition. He won gold medals in both the team and individual events. He won 24 of 25 matches in the individual competition. As a team, Hungary went undefeated.
[edit] Anti-semitism
In the 1930s, anti-Semitic views had pervaded fencing in Hungary. Fencing officials openly disdained Jews, even champion fencers such as Kabos.[1]
[edit] Forced Labor Camp and Death
Kabos was sent to a forced labor camp during World War II, where he was interred for at least three months. With the aid of a compassionate guard, he escaped and joined the Hungarian underground.
There are various accounts of Kabos’ fate following Germany’s World War II occupation of Hungary, but each ends with the same outcome.
According to one report, he lost his life defending the Margit Bridge that separates the cities of Buda and Pest. Another account claims he was killed when a munitions truck that he was driving exploded as the result of a pipe bomb, as he attempted to drive across the bridge, plunging the truck and Kabos into the Danube River.
[edit] Hall of Fame
Kabos, who was Jewish, was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.[2]
