Harold_Goldsmith
Harold Goldsmith
American fencer (1930–2004)
Harold David Goldsmith (born Hans Goldschmidt), known as Hal (July 20, 1930 – March 13, 2004) was an American Olympic foil and epee fencer.[1]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name | Hans Goldschmidt | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1930-07-20)July 20, 1930 Gensungen, Felsberg, Hessen, Germany | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | March 13, 2004(2004-03-13) (aged 73) New York, New York, United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Fencing | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Foil and Epee | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | The City College of New York | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Fencers Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Goldsmith was born in Gensungen, Felsberg, Hessen, Germany, and was Jewish.[2][3][4][5][6] In 1938 when he was eight years old, his family fled Germany and immigrated to Manhattan.[3][2] He attended Stuyvesant High School.[3] He served as an officer in the United States Army.[3]
In 1956 he married DelRene Millner and had sons John and Bob. In 1964 they moved to Ardsley, New York, and in 1991 they moved to Chilmark, Massachusetts.[3]
Goldsmith fenced for the Fencers Club in New York.[2] He attended The City College of New York.[3] Goldsmith won the 1952 NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) foil championship.[7] He was inducted into the CCNY Athletic Hall of Fame in 1970.[8]
He won the individual gold medal in foil in the 1955 Pan American Games and 1959 Pan American Games, and a team gold medal in foil in 1959.[3][2] Goldsmith also won silver medals in both team foil and team epee in 1955.[2][9]
Goldsmith was a member of three Olympic fencing teams, competing for the United States in 1952 in Helsinki, in 1956 in Melbourne, and in 1960 in Rome.[3][9] The entire USA Foil Fencing Team at the 1956 Olympics was Jewish, with the other Jewish fencers being Daniel Bukantz, Albert Axelrod, Nathaniel Lubell, and Byron Krieger.[10][11]
At the US National Championships, Goldsmith won medals in 1952, 1957, and 1960.[9]
Hal Goldsmith died in New York City at the age of 73.
- "Harold Goldsmith Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
- "Hal Goldsmith Bio, Stats, and Results," Olympics at Sports-Reference.com.
- "Harold D. Goldsmith, 73 Was Executive, Athlete," The Vineyard Gazette - Martha's Vineyard News.
- Bob Wechsler. Day by Day in Jewish Sports History
- Bernard Postal, Jesse Silver, Roy Silver. Encyclopedia of Jews in Sports
- "NCAA Fencing Champions". Archived from the original on 2002-02-23. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
- ""alumniassociationccny.org"". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
- Vecsey, George (December 2, 2007). "A Righteous Recipe for Longevity". The New York Times.