Byron Krieger

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Medal record
Competitor for Flag of the United States United States
Pan American Games
Gold 1951 Buenos Aires Team Foil
Gold 1951 Buenos Aires Team Sabre
Medal record
Maccabiah Games
Gold 1957 Israel Individual Foil
Gold 1957 Israel Individual Sabre

Byron Lester Krieger (born July 20, 1920, in Detroit, Michigan) was an American foil, sabre, and epee fencer. Krieger represented the U.S. in the Olympics in 1952 and 1956.

Contents

[edit] Education

Krieger graduated from Northwestern High School. He attended Wayne State University in Michigan, and was the NCAA champion in foil in 1942. He was 62-7 in dual meets at WSU, including 30-0 in foil. He was WSU's first All-American.

[edit] Pan American Games

Krieger won gold medals in team foil and team sabre at the 1951 Pan American Games. He came in 6th in both the individual foil and sabre events.[1]

[edit] 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 members Albert Axelrod and Daniel Bukantz.

[edit] Maccabiah Games

In 1957 Krieger, who is Jewish, won the GOLD medal in SABRE and BRONZE in FOIL at the Maccabiah Games.

[edit] 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.[2]

He was inducted into the The Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame' in 1986 [3]

[edit] 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 2007 they celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary. They have six children and 14 grandchildren. Grandson Sam is a foil fencer in Massachusetts.

[edit] Links

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