LAUSANNE, Switz., Oct. 15, 2025 – The FIE is saddened to learn of the passing of Richard “Dick” Worden Pew (USA) on Oct. 2 at the age of 92 (b. April 22, 1933 in New York, New York USA). He was an American epee fencer who tied for fourth place at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games.
Pew began fencing at Cornell University, under Coach Georges Cointe, where he won consecutive Eastern Intercollegiate titles in 1954 and 1955, serving as the team’s co-captain to help win the (U.S.) Intercollegiate Fencing Association’s three-weapon crown. In 1955, he was runner-up at the NCAA Championships and, in 1980, Cornell University inducted him into their Athletics Hall of Fame.
USA Fencing, in an official statement about Pew, said he “set a standard that still inspires our epee community”.
In 1964, Pew stated in an interview that “Some good friends of mine at Cornell were fencers. I decided to give the sport a six-month trial”, after which he never considered quitting fencing.
The FIE extends its sincere condolences to Richard Pew’s family and friends, USA Fencing and the Pan American Fencing Confederation, and expresses its deepest sympathy to them at this difficult time.