The Most Famous
FENCERS from Romania
This page contains a list of the greatest Romanian Fencers. The pantheon dataset contains 174 Fencers, 11 of which were born in Romania. This makes Romania the birth place of the 7th most number of Fencers behind South Korea and United States.
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Romanian Fencers of all time. This list of famous Romanian Fencers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Romanian Fencers.
1. Olga Szabó-Orbán (1938 - 2022)
With an HPI of 58.81, Olga Szabó-Orbán is the most famous Romanian Fencer. Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages on wikipedia.
Olga Szabó-Orbán (née Orbán, 9 October 1938 – 5 January 2022) was a Romanian foil fencer, world champion in 1962, and team world champion in 1969. A five-time Olympian, she won an individual silver medal in 1956 and team bronze medals in 1968 and 1972.
2. Endre Kabos (1906 - 1944)
With an HPI of 51.60, Endre Kabos is the 2nd most famous Romanian Fencer. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.
Endre Kabos (5 November 1906 – 4 November 1944) was a Hungarian sabre fencer. He competed individually and with the team at the 1932 and 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics and won three gold and one bronze medals. In the fall of 1935, the Nazi regime in Germany had passed the anti-Semitic Nuremberg laws which stripped German Jews of citizenship, opportunities to receive a public education, and access to many professions and public facilities including municipal hospitals. Jewish businesses had been boycotted and Jews could not serve in the legal profession, the civil service, teach in secondary schools or universities or vote or hold public office. Kabos was noticed internationally after winning the Slovakian Championships in 1928. He then collected six gold and one silver medals in sabre at the European Championships in 1930–1935. Kabos was Jewish. During World War II he was interned for five months in a forced labor camp in Vax. He was called up in June 1944 to work at labour camps for Jews at the village of Felsöhangony, where he was teaching army officers the use of sabre fencing. Later he was transferred to Budapest and was given two horses and a cart to transport food and provisions for others in camp. On 4 November, the day before his 38th birthday, he was driving on Margaret Bridge while German soldiers were preparing explosives to blow up the bridge prior to it being used by the advancing Red Army which at that time was about 150 kilometers to the East of Budapest. Kabos died with many others and only some non-identifiable skeleton parts were found in 2011, when the bridge was being extended. Kabos was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.
3. Zoltán Ozoray Schenker (1880 - 1966)
With an HPI of 43.07, Zoltán Ozoray Schenker is the 3rd most famous Romanian Fencer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Zoltán Ozoray Schenker (13 October 1880 – 25 August 1966) was a Hungarian Olympic sabre and foil fencer, who won three Olympic medals.
4. Reka Zsofia Lazăr-Szabo (1967 - )
With an HPI of 34.56, Reka Zsofia Lazăr-Szabo is the 4th most famous Romanian Fencer. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Reka Zsofia Lazăr-Szabo (Hungarian: Réka Zsófia Lázár-Szabó, born 11 March 1967) is a Romanian foil fencer, bronze medallist in the 1992 Summer Olympics, World champion in 1994, and silver medallist at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
5. Ana Maria Popescu (1984 - )
With an HPI of 33.37, Ana Maria Popescu is the 5th most famous Romanian Fencer. Her biography has been translated into 25 different languages.
Ana Maria Popescu, formerly known as Ana Maria Brânză (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈana maˈri.a ˈbrɨnzə], born 26 November 1984), is a Romanian left-handed épée fencer. Popescu is a four-time team European champion, 2013 individual European champion, and two-time team world champion. A five-time Olympian, Popescu is a two-time individual Olympic silver medalist and 2016 team Olympic champion.
6. Laura Badea-Cârlescu (1970 - )
With an HPI of 32.42, Laura Badea-Cârlescu is the 6th most famous Romanian Fencer. Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Laura Gabriela Badea-Cârlescu (née Badea on 28 March 1970) is a retired Romanian foil fencer, world champion in 1995, olympic champion in 1996 and european champion in 1996,1997, 2004. After her retirement (23-year career at top-level fencing, winning 23 medals at the Olympics, World Championships, European Championships and Universiade) she became a fencing coach, then a sport administrator with numerous roles. She served as President of the Athletes Commission (2001-2005) for the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, Member of the Rules Commission of the International Fencing Federation, Director of Olympic Education of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (2005-2012), Director of Romanian Olympic Academy(2011-2017), Romanian Ambassador for Sports, Tolerance and Fair-Play at the Council of Europe (2004-2011), Member of the Science and Sports Council in Romania (2006-2009), Member of the Romanian Anti-Doping Agency, Vice-President of the Romanian Fencing Federation (2005-2011), President of the Romanian Fencing Federation (2017-2018), Member of the Culture and Olympic Heritage Commission at the European Olympic Committee, Member of the Executiv Committee at the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee.
7. Mihai Covaliu (1977 - )
With an HPI of 28.61, Mihai Covaliu is the 7th most famous Romanian Fencer. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Mihai Claudiu Covaliu (born 5 November 1977 in Brașov) is a Romanian retired sabre fencer, Olympic champion in 2000 and world champion in 2005, and coach of the Romanian men's sabre team. He is also ex-president of the Romanian Fencing Federation and, from 2016, president of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee.
8. Loredana Dinu (1984 - )
With an HPI of 25.72, Loredana Dinu is the 8th most famous Romanian Fencer. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Loredana Dinu (born Iordăchioiu; born 2 April 1984) is a retired Romanian épée fencer, twice World champion and twice European champion with Romania.
9. Simona Gherman (1985 - )
With an HPI of 25.70, Simona Gherman is the 9th most famous Romanian Fencer. Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Simona Gherman (née Alexandru; born 12 April 1985) is a retired Romanian épée fencer, European champion in 2012 and 2016. She was twice team World Champion in 2010 and 2011 and five-time team European Champion in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2015.
10. Simona Pop (1988 - )
With an HPI of 23.75, Simona Pop is the 10th most famous Romanian Fencer. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Simona Pop née Deac (born 25 December 1988) is a retired Romanian épée fencer, bronze medallist at the 2015 European Championships, team silver medallist in the 2015 World Fencing Championships and team European champion in 2014 and 2015.
Pantheon has 11 people classified as fencers born between 1880 and 1988. Of these 11, 8 (72.73%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living fencers include Reka Zsofia Lazăr-Szabo, Ana Maria Popescu, and Laura Badea-Cârlescu. The most famous deceased fencers include Olga Szabó-Orbán, Endre Kabos, and Zoltán Ozoray Schenker. As of April 2022, 3 new fencers have been added to Pantheon including Zoltán Ozoray Schenker, Reka Zsofia Lazăr-Szabo, and Tiberiu Dolniceanu.
Living Fencers
Go to all Rankings
Reka Zsofia Lazăr-Szabo
1967 - Present
HPI: 34.56
Ana Maria Popescu
1984 - Present
HPI: 33.37
Laura Badea-Cârlescu
1970 - Present
HPI: 32.42
Mihai Covaliu
1977 - Present
HPI: 28.61
Loredana Dinu
1984 - Present
HPI: 25.72
Simona Gherman
1985 - Present
HPI: 25.70
Simona Pop
1988 - Present
HPI: 23.75
Tiberiu Dolniceanu
1988 - Present
HPI: 20.55
Deceased Fencers
Go to all RankingsOlga Szabó-Orbán
1938 - 2022
HPI: 58.81
Endre Kabos
1906 - 1944
HPI: 51.60
Zoltán Ozoray Schenker
1880 - 1966
HPI: 43.07
Newly Added Fencers (2022)
Go to all RankingsZoltán Ozoray Schenker
1880 - 1966
HPI: 43.07
Reka Zsofia Lazăr-Szabo
1967 - Present
HPI: 34.56
Tiberiu Dolniceanu
1988 - Present
HPI: 20.55
Which Fencers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 3 most globally memorable Fencers since 1700.
