Yakov Rylsky

Yakov Anufrievich Rylsky (Russian: Яков Ануфриевич Рыльский) (25 October 1928 – 9 December 1999)^[1] was an Olympic champion and three-time world champion Russian sabre fencer who competed for the Soviet Union.^[2][3] He took part in three Olympic Games and won two medals in the team events.^[4][5]

Yakov Rylsky

Personal information
Birth name	Яков Ануфриевич Рыльский
Full name	Yakov Anufrievich Rylsky
Born	(1928-10-25)25 October 1928 Aleksandrovka, Kazakh ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died	9 December 1999(1999-12-09) (aged 71) Moscow, Russia
Sport
Sport	Fencing
Team	Dynamo Moscow
Achievements and titles
World finals	Three-time gold medalist in individual sabre at the World Championships (1958, 1961 and 1963)
Medal record Men's Fencing Representing  Soviet Union 1964 Tokyo Team sabre 1956 Melbourne Team sabre

Early life

Rylsky was born in Aleksandrovka, Russian SFSR to a Russian mother and Jewish father.^[6][2][7]

Fencing career

Rylsky began fencing in 1949.^[8] He was a member of the USSR national team between 1953 and 1966.^[9]

Rylsky was the Soviet sabre champion from 1954 to 1958. In 1963, he won the Dantzer Cup in Paris.^[10][11] Rylsky achieved the title of the Russian Merited Master of Sport, the highest honour given to Soviet athletes.^[10]

Rylsky trained at Dynamo in Moscow.^[12][8]

World championships

Rylsky had won three gold medals in the individual sabre at the World Fencing Championships (1958, 1961 and 1963).^[13][10]

Olympics

Rylsky competed in the individual and team sabre events at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.^[14] In the team competition, the Soviet team lost to Poland (7–9) and Hungary (7–9) in the final pool, and subsequently won the bronze medal by beating France in the third-place match.^[14][10] Rylsky was eliminated in the second round of the individual competition.^[14]

He participated in individual and team events at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.^[14] The Soviets finished fifth in the team event, and Rylsky reached the finals in the individual competition, finishing eighth overall.^[14]

In Rylsky's final Olympiad appearance, at 1964 Summer Games in Tokyo, he won the gold medal in the team sabre event.^[14][10] Rylsky then finished fourth in the individual event.^[14]

See also

• List of select Jewish fencers

References

1. (in Russian) in Sovetsky Sport newspaper
2. Joseph M. Siegman (1992). The International Jewish Sports Hall ... SP Books. ISBN 9781561710287. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
3. Wigoder, Geoffrey (March 3, 1975). Everyman's Judaica: An Encyclopedic Dictionary. Keter Publishing House Jerusalem. ISBN 9780706514124 – via Google Books.
4. . databaseolympics.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
5. . sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
6. "Jewish Olympic Medalists". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.
7. "July 19, 1996 - Image 91". The Detroit Jewish News Digital Archives.
8. ""Soviet News" Booklet[s]". Soviet News. March 3, 1958 – via Google Books.
9. (in Russian) Profile at the Russian Fencing Federation
10. Siegman, Joseph M. (March 3, 1992). The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. SP Books. ISBN 9781561710287 – via Google Books.
11. Postal, Bernard; Silver, Jesse; Silver, Roy (March 3, 1965). "Encyclopedia of Jews in Sports". Bloch Publishing Company – via Google Books.
12. Boris Khavin (1979). All about Olympic Games (in Russian) (2nd ed.). Moscow: Fizkultura i sport. p. 576.
13. . October 13, 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-10-13.
14. . April 17, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.

Sources

• Jews in Sports bio