Lone American to earn gold medal at World Veterans Fencing Championships

One can only hope that the up-and-coming teen-age fencers at Ramapo High in New Jersey appreciate how fortunate they are to have Paul Apostol as their head coach.

The two-time Olympian has been at the high school since being nudged out of a self-imposed quarter-century fencing retirement by his wife, Cathy, in 2002. After his first two years of coaching, Apostol got the fencing bug and once again plunged into the sport.

He hasn't lost his touch. The 62-year-old Apostol returned from Sydney in September with the lone U.S. gold medal at the World Veterans Fencing Championships. More than 250 fencers from 22 countries gathered in Australia for the 11th annual event, where Apostol defended the 60 plus men's sabre world championship title from 2006.

"Winning the gold this year in Sydney was a greater thrill and more nerve racking than last year in Bath, England," said Apostol, who in the sabre category at the Olympics placed eighth in 1972 in Munich and 13th in Montreal in 1976. "Last year was my first time in the Veterans World Championships and there were no expectations about the outcome. This year… there definitely were expectations of a successful outcome."

Unlike 2006 when Apostol faced a fellow American in the finals, which made it difficult for his U.S. teammates to root him on, this year he went up against Patrick Boite of France, winning 10-6 to a cheering throng, 45 strong. The win didn't come easy, but it wasn't for lack of athletic prowess from Apostol, who started his fencing career in 1963 as the fencing team manager at New York University, a dominant power in the U.S. fencing world. (Apostol won the NCAA championship as a junior).

"The highlight of the event for me was when a plug fit into a socket," Apostol said of his final bout in Australia. "Early in my final match, I made an attack against (Boite) and my blade broke and went flying across the auditorium. With a time-out called, I went to my end of the strip where my spare sabre was waiting. When I went to plug my body cord (part of the electrical scoring apparatus) into the new sabre, it would not fit."

Apostol remained calm and patient while members of his entourage worked to see what had happened. He said it seemed "like an eternity" as they pushed and pulled to no avail. The referee was going to issue a penalty for Apostol's "faulty equipment" but a quick-thinking teammate brought Apostol yet another sabre. The plug slid in and he was allowed to continue. "I don't know how I managed to keep my concentration during this fiasco but somehow I returned to the strip and proceeded to score several touches in a row," he said.

Apostol, who has four children (all athletes in their own right), retired from work in the fiber and chemical industry in 1997 and has since become an avid (and single-digit handicap) golfer and gardener. But it's his work as a coach that challenges him and brings the most satisfaction.

Ramapo has been undefeated in regular season meets the last four years. The team has finished second and fourth in the New Jersey state championships during Apostol's tenure. "The state title is a goal that we are still striving for," Apostol said.