Power ranking every single sport at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics

24. Fencing

The very early Olympic events seem to break down into two very distinct categories. On the one hand, there are crazy feats of strength and speed. That’s the track and field events, or swimming events. Then, on the other hand, there are events that basically just become a mock war or battle. We covered the modern pentathlon, which originated as the five fighting styles of war. 

Fencing is low-key dope. It’s truly just a sword fight. It’s also incredibly quick, which raises the stress level of the athletes and spectators tenfold. One small mistake ends an athletes run. It could make a gold medal favorite get knocked out in the first round. It’s not likely, but it’s more possible than many other sports.

Transparently, fencing would be higher on this list if the rules weren’t confusing. Yes, the goal of the match is to “stab” your opponent, but it has to be proper in its placement and the placement varies based on the weapon of choice. Be honest, did you even know there were different weapons used in the different fencing events? There’s a choice of three: foil, épée and sabre. 

The match goes up to 15, which leads to plenty of stabbing. Two of the three events only count points when a person is hit with the point of the blade. In sabre, athletes can hit anyone with any portion of the blade. It does lead to some interesting endings, but fencing as we know it is foil. That is where fencers must use the end of the blade to hit opponents between the neck and the end of their torso. It’s a fun sport to watch, but just make sure you stick to the foil.