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1988 Olympics Fencing Men's Epee Final 8. Before the there was a unified Germany, before the collapse of Soviet Union, there was Seoul 1988. The 1984 Olympics did not feature Soviet Union and its 13 Communist allies (Romania was the only Warsaw Pact country to attend). Without the Democratic Republic of Germany and Soviet Union the 1984 Olympics were the most American dominated Olympics in the past 80 years. As proof of the strength and power of the so-called Eastern Block is Seoul 1988. Based on the finals initial seeding the following fencers comprise the top 8:

1. Kuehnemund, T GDR – Second in World Cup standings 1988


2. Chouvalov Andrey URS 1987 World Champion


3. Bergstrom Jerri SWE Made finals in 1985 and 1986


4. Rezdnichenko, Vladimir URS Team Champion in 1987 (for USSR, and later would also win for Germany)


5. Riboud Philippe FRA First in World Cup 1986, 3rd in 1984, and 3rd in 1980 Olympics


6. Schmitt, Arndt FRG First in World Cups 1987


7. Martin Brill NZL First in the Oceanic Dome Championships 1981


8. Cuomo, Sandro ITA 3rd in the World cups of 1985, would also be part of the Team that took gold in 1996

Most Olympic finals tend to be mixes of fencers with lots of talent, experience and world class expertise, along with young, and relatively unknown fencers who make their spot by pure luck and determination. Seoul 1988 does not conform to those statistics, almost all the fencers in the finals were strong well known and experienced. In hindsight anyone one of them could have taken the gold, silver or bronze, as this DVD and my introduction will show.

This video comes from fencingwebtv.com