Fencing at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's foil
The men's foil was one of seven fencing events on the fencing at the 1956 Summer Olympics programme. It was the twelfth appearance of the event. The competition was held on 26 November 1956. 32 fencers from 14 nations competed.
Competition format
The competition used a pool play format, with each fencer facing the other fencers in the pool in a round robin. Bouts were to 5 touches. Barrages were used to break ties necessary for advancement. However, only as much fencing was done as was necessary to determine advancement, so some bouts never occurred if the fencers advancing from the pool could be determined.Results
Round 1
The top 4 fencers in each pool advanced to the semifinals.Pool 1
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | Notes | ||
| 1 | 6 | 0 | 30 | 13 | Qualified for semifinals | ||
| 2 | 5 | 1 | 27 | 15 | Qualified for semifinals | ||
| 3 | 5 | 2 | 30 | 18 | Qualified for semifinals | ||
| 4 | 4 | 3 | 27 | 15 | Qualified for semifinals | ||
| 5 | 3 | 4 | 22 | 23 | |||
| 6 | 2 | 4 | 19 | 28 | |||
| 7 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 34 | |||
| 8 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 30 |
Pool 2
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | Notes | ||
| 1 | 5 | 2 | 32 | 19 | Qualified for semifinals | ||
| 2 | 5 | 2 | 29 | 21 | Qualified for semifinals | ||
| 3 | 5 | 2 | 31 | 26 | Qualified for semifinals | ||
| 4 | 4 | 3 | 30 | 25 | Qualified for semifinals Won barrage vs. Mangiarotti 5–4 | ||
| 5 | 4 | 3 | 22 | 23 | Lost barrage v. Stratmann 4–5 | ||
| 6 | 3 | 4 | 21 | 28 | |||
| 7 | 1 | 6 | 22 | 32 | |||
| 8 | 1 | 6 | 18 | 34 |
Pool 3
Delaunois beat Paul, who beat Bergamini, who beat Delaunois, in the barrage, all at 5–4; touches against in the main pool were used to break the tie.| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | Notes | ||
| 1 | 5 | 1 | 29 | 17 | Qualified for semifinals | ||
| 2 | 5 | 1 | 25 | 17 | Qualified for semifinals | ||
| 3 | 4 | 3 | 31 | 22 | Qualified for semifinals Barrage tied 1–1 | ||
| 4 | 4 | 3 | 23 | 23 | Qualified for semifinals Barrage tied 1–1 | ||
| 5 | 4 | 3 | 26 | 27 | Barrage tied 1–1 | ||
| 6 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 24 | |||
| 7 | 1 | 5 | 19 | 26 | |||
| 8 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 30 |
Pool 4
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | Notes | ||
| 1 | 6 | 1 | 31 | 19 | Qualified for semifinals | ||
| 2 | 5 | 2 | 30 | 15 | Qualified for semifinals | ||
| 3 | 5 | 2 | 27 | 18 | Qualified for semifinals | ||
| 4 | 5 | 2 | 30 | 19 | Qualified for semifinals | ||
| 5 | 4 | 3 | 29 | 24 | |||
| 6 | 2 | 5 | 17 | 32 | |||
| 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 30 | |||
| 8 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 30 |
Semifinals
The top 4 fencers in each pool advanced to the final.Semifinal 1
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | Notes | ||
| 1 | 5 | 2 | 31 | 15 | Qualified for final | ||
| 2 | 5 | 1 | 27 | 16 | Qualified for final | ||
| 3 | 5 | 2 | 31 | 19 | Qualified for final | ||
| 4 | 5 | 2 | 27 | 22 | Qualified for final | ||
| 5 | 3 | 3 | 21 | 20 | |||
| 6 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 28 | |||
| 7 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 27 | |||
| 8 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 35 |
Semifinal 2
The three-way barrage for 3rd and 4th places resulted in Stratmann losing twice to be eliminated. Gyuricza and Jay did not face each other in the barrage, with their nominal 3rd and 4th place ranks determined on touches against in the main pool.| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | Notes | ||
| 1 | 6 | 1 | 32 | 14 | Qualified for final | ||
| 2 | 5 | 2 | 26 | 25 | Qualified for final | ||
| 3 | 4 | 3 | 31 | 23 | Qualified for final Defeated Stratmann 5–4 in barrage | ||
| 4 | 4 | 3 | 31 | 24 | Qualified for final Defeated Stratmann 5–2 in barrage | ||
| 5 | 4 | 3 | 28 | 27 | Defeated twice in barrage | ||
| 6 | 2 | 5 | 22 | 32 | |||
| 7 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 28 | |||
| 8 | 1 | 5 | 19 | 29 |
Final
| Rank | Fencer | Nation | Wins | Losses | Notes | ||
| 6 | 1 | 33 | 17 | ||||
| 5 | 2 | 33 | 26 | Won barrage vs. Spallino 5–4 | |||
| 5 | 2 | 30 | 21 | Lost barrage vs. Bergamini 4–5 | |||
| 4 | 4 | 3 | 29 | 26 | |||
| 5 | 3 | 4 | 23 | 23 | |||
| 6 | 3 | 4 | 21 | 25 | |||
| 7 | 2 | 5 | 19 | 30 | |||
| 8 | 0 | 7 | 15 | 35 |