George Calnan

US navy officer and fencer
George Calnan
Birth nameGeorge Charles Calnan
Born(1900-01-18)January 18, 1900
Boston, Massachusetts, US
DiedApril 4, 1933(1933-04-04) (aged 33)
Off the coast of New Jersey, US
Cause of deathThe crash of USS Akron
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Navy
Years of service1918 – 1933
RankLieutenant
Alma materUnited States Naval Academy

George Calnan
Medal record
Men's fencing
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1928 Amsterdam Epee, individual
Bronze medal – third place 1932 Los Angeles Foil, team
Bronze medal – third place 1932 Los Angeles Epee, team

George Charles Calnan (January 18, 1900 – April 4, 1933) was a United States Navy officer who also competed for the United States as a fencer.[1] Competing in four Summer Olympics,[2] he earned three bronze medals (Individual épée: 1928, Team foil: 1932, Team épée: 1932)[3]

A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Calnan did not start fencing until he was a student at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. By the time he was a senior, he was captain of the Navy's fencing team. Two years later, Calnan competed for the United States at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris where he finished tied for fifth in the team épée competition. Calnan took the Olympic Oath at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Calnan was among the 73 fatalities of the USS Akron crash in 1933. He had a lieutenant's rank at the time of the crash.

He was posthumously inducted in the US Fencing Hall of Fame in 1963, among the first inductees. He is also the namesake of the George C. Calnan Memorial Trophy, which is given to the three-weapon championship team.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "George Calnan". Olympedia. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  2. ^ "George Calnan". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  3. ^ "Olympics Statistics: George Calnan". databaseolympics.com. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  • Calnan, George C. at the Wayback Machine (archived August 5, 2012)
  • IOC 1932 Summer Olympics
  • US Fencing Hall of Fame profile at the Wayback Machine (archived February 14, 2008)
  • Wallechinsky, David (1984). "Fencing". In The Complete Book of the Olympics: 1896-1980. New York: Penguin Books. pp. 248, 252, 256.