Women in fencing, weapon by weapon.

At a glance

Each date is explained in its weapon's section below. Two of the World Championships dates, and the first Olympic team sabre, rest on Wikipedia alone.

Foil

Olympedia records that women first took part in Olympic fencing at Paris 1924, and that they fenced only foil until 1996. NBC Olympics names Ellen Osiier of Denmark as the first Olympic women's foil champion, in 1924.

Wikipedia says women's foil was added to the European Championships, which the FIE later recognised as World Championships, in 1929, and women's team foil in 1932. Those dates rest on Wikipedia alone.

The wait for team foil

The FIE's own magazine, Escrime XXI, in a history timeline in issue 94, says the FIE held a women's team foil event at the 1932 European Championships because the event was not on the Olympic programme. It says the FIE then held a women's team foil world championship at each following Olympic Games, until the IOC added the event in 1960. NBC Olympics and Wikipedia both date the Olympic women's team foil to Rome 1960.

Reading Wikipedia's table of Olympic events, women's team foil was later one of the team events left out in rotation at Athens 2004 and Rio 2016, when only ten events were held. That is an inference from a secondary table, explained on fencing at the Olympics.

Epee

The FIE's historical note (article i.3.4) records that the 1984 FIE Congress approved the introduction of women's epee, which the note calls Ladies' epee, and that the 1987 Congress decided women's epee World Championships would be held from 1989.

Olympedia dates women's epee at the Olympics to Atlanta 1996. NBC Olympics says both the individual and the team event began there, with Laura Flessel of France winning the individual title and France the team event. On the Wikipedia reading of the rotation, women's team epee was left out at Beijing 2008.

Sabre

Wikipedia says women's sabre was introduced at the World Championships in 1999; that rests on Wikipedia alone. Olympedia dates women's sabre at the Olympics to Athens 2004, and NBC Olympics names Mariel Zagunis of the United States as the first Olympic women's sabre champion that year.

Wikipedia records women's team sabre first at Beijing 2008. On the same reading of the rotation, it was left out at London 2012, and Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021) was the first Games with all six women's events alongside all six men's.

Today's programme

The FIE's qualification system for LA28 (version of 12 May 2026) lists six women's events, individual and team foil, epee and sabre, with 102 of the 204 qualification quota places for women and 102 for men. Olympedia names Valentina Vezzali of Italy as the woman with the most Olympic fencing medals, nine.

One equipment rule applies to women specifically. The FIE Material Rules (August 2026, article m.25.4.c) make a chest protector of metal or rigid material compulsory for women at all three weapons and optional for men; the July 2020 edition carried the same rule. The date the requirement was first introduced was not found in the research for this site. The rule as it stands is on gloves and chest protectors.

Women in fencing's organisations

The British Academy of Fencing records that a Ladies Professional Fencing Association existed in Britain from 1936 to 1948, before merging with the British Federation of Fencing Masters in 1949 to form the Academy. Today the FIE's About page lists a Women in Fencing council among its councils.

Women's wheelchair fencing

• Foil. The IPC's history of wheelchair fencing says a women's foil event was held at Stoke Mandeville in 1956, and women's foil was one of the three wheelchair fencing events at the first Paralympic Games, Rome 1960.
• Epee. Women's wheelchair epee is said to have joined the Paralympics at Seoul 1988, but that rests on a search summary of Wikipedia and is unconfirmed.
• Sabre. The IPC records that women's sabre made its Paralympic debut at Tokyo 2020, held in 2021, completing the individual programme for both men and women. Bian Jing (category A) and Tan Shumei (category B), both of China, won the first golds.

The rest of the wheelchair story is on wheelchair fencing history.