LAUSANNE, Switz., Jan. 22, 2025 – The FIE is saddened to learn of the passing of Jacques Guittet (FRA), 95, born on Jan. 12, 1930, in Casablanca, Morocco. He was a four-time gold medallist at the World Championships, including an individual title in 1961 in epee. Guittet earned a bronze medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games in men’s team epee and competed in the individual event, and he also participated in the 1960 Rome Olympic Games (team and individual). At the 1959 Beirut Mediterranean Games, he earned gold medals in team epee and foil as well as individual epee.
Guittet was the President of the French Fencing Federation from 1977 to 1981. During his tenure at the FFE, he modernized fencing in France and successfully introduced computer technology to the sport.
In 1959, he was named a Knight of the Order of Sporting Merit, and in 2015 he was received as a “Glory of Sport” at the Maison du Sport Français in Paris by the Association of French International Sports. Guittet practiced fencing at the Racing Club de France.
He was a graduate of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris and worked as an engineer at the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA).
The FIE extends its sincere condolences for their loss to Jacques Guittet’s family and friends, the French Fencing Federation and the European Fencing Confederation, and expresses its deepest sympathy during this difficult time.