The men's sabre was one of four fencing events on the Fencing at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. The top two places were won by Hungarian fencers, who also took the gold medal in the team sabre event. Jenő Fuchs took the gold medal and Béla Zulawszky the silver. Bronze went to Bohemian Vilém Goppold von Lobsdorf. There were 76 competitors from 11 nations. Each nation could enter up to 12 fencers. Background This was the fourth appearance of the event, which is the only fencing event to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The 1900 gold medalist, Georges de la Falaise of France, returned after not competing in 1904. Belgium, Bohemia, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and South Africa each made their debut in the men's sabre. Austria made its third appearance in the event, most of any nation, having missed only the 1904 Games in St. Louis. Competition format The competition was held over four rounds. In each round, each pool held a round-robin, with bouts to 3 touches. European sabre rules at the time used a target area of the whole body, in contrast to above-the-waist target area provided for by the American rules of the time, used in the 1904 Games, and which became standard after World War I. Barrages were used as necessary to determine the advancing fencers. First round: 13 pools of between 4 to 8 fencers each. The 3 fencers in each pool with the fewest bouts lost advanced to the second round. Quarterfinals: 8 pools of 5 fencers each (except one had only 4 by design and one had only 4 due to a non-starter). The 2 fencers in each pool with the fewest bouts lost advanced to the semifinals. Semifinals: 2 pools of 8 fencers each. The 4 fencers in each pool with the fewest bouts lost advanced to the final. Final: 1 pool of 8 fencers. Schedule Results Round 1 The first round was conducted in round-robin format, to three touches. Pool sizes ranged from 4 to 8 fencers. The three contestants who had lost the fewest bouts advanced. Pool A Pool B The three-way tie for the two remaining places resulted in the British fencer being eliminated. Barrage B Pool C Renaud lost both his playoff matches, eliminating him and allowing Grade and Jack to advance. Barrage C Pool D The playoff resulted in two losses for Lichtenfels. Barrage