Rubén Dario Limardo Gascón (born 3 August 1985) is a Venezuelan left-handed épée fencer, five-time team Pan American champion, four-time individual Pan American champion, three-time Olympian, and 2012 individual Olympic champion.^[1]

Quick Facts Ruben Limardo, Personal information ...

Ruben Limardo
Limardo at the Masters épée 2012
Personal information
Born	(1985-08-03) 3 August 1985 (age 38) Ciudad Bolívar, Bolívar, Venezuela
Height	175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	75 kg (165 lb)
Sport
Sport	Fencing
Weapon	Épée
Club	Piast Gliwice
FIE ranking	current ranking
Medal record Men’s épée Representing  Venezuela Olympic Games 2012 London Épée World Championships 2013 Budapest Individual 2018 Wuxi Individual 2023 Milan Team Pan American Championships 2009 San Salvador Individual 2009 San Salvador Team 2012 Cancún Team 2013 Cartagena Team 2015 Santiago Individual 2016 Panama City Team 2017 Montreal Individual 2017 Montreal Team 2019 Toronto Individual 2008 Querétaro Individual 2008 Querétaro Team 2011 Reno 2012 Cancún Individual 2015 Santiago Team 2018 Havana Individual 2018 Havana Team 2011 Reno Team 2013 Cartagena Individua] Pan American Games 2007 Rio de Janeiro Individual 2015 Toronto Individual 2015 Toronto Team 2019 Lima Individual 2007 Rio de Janeiro Team 2011 Guadalajara Individual 2011 Guadalajara Team 2019 Lima Team Central American and Caribbean Games 2010 Mayagüez Team 2006 CartagenaTeam {{{2}}} 2010 Mayagüez Individual 2006 Cartagena Individual

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Limardo competed in the 2012 London Olympic Games, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

His younger brother, Francisco, also competes in fencing on the international level. In 2015 he was elected to the National Assembly for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.^[2]

Born in Ciudad Bolívar, Limardo competed for his native country in the 2008 Olympics épée competition, placing 23rd.^{[citation needed]}

Limardo competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London winning a gold medal in the individual épée event at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre on 1 August, two days before his 27th birthday.^[3] He won the gold when he defeated Norway's Bartosz Piasecki 15–10 in the men's épée final, winning Venezuela's first ever fencing medal, and Latin America's first Olympic gold medal in épée in 108 years, after Ramón Fonst won the event in 1904.^[4]

Limardo earned Venezuela's second gold medal in any Olympic Games with the first being at the 1968 Summer Olympic Games when Francisco Rodríguez won gold as a boxer in the light flyweight division.^[5]

He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in the individual épée and the team épée competition. In the individual event, he was defeated by Ayman Mohamed Fayez of Egypt during the round of 32.^[6] He was the flagbearer for Venezuela during the opening ceremony.^[7]

Limardo began fencing at the age of seven, encouraged by an uncle who had discovered the sport in Hungary.^[8] He was originally a right-handed foil fencer before injury caused him to switch both hand and weapon.^[8]

He was awarded the Venezuelan Order of the Liberator after winning his gold medal at the London Olympic Games. President Hugo Chávez also presented him with a gold replica of Simon Bolivar's sword encrusted with precious stones.^[9]

His brother Jesús Limardo also competes in fencing competitions. He has been a member of Piast Gliwice fencing club and currently resides in Łódź, Poland.^[10][11]