Article by Giovanni Manenti
Although not reaching the level of “Big Four” of International Fencing – that is Italy, France, Hungary and Soviet Union/Russia – Germany can also boast a valid tradition in this Discipline, proof of which is that, adding the laurels of West Germany and united Germany, the same won 41 medals at the Olympics, including 13 gold, 16 silver and 12 bronze …
This circumstance places the German nation in fifth place (adding the podiums of the Soviet Union and Russia) of the relative “All Time Ranking“Olimpica, a loot that could have been much more conspicuous if a real one”Curse” had not struck the protagonist of our story today, absolutely the best German foil player of all times.
A story in some ways similar to that of the Soviet foil player Alexander Romankov – which we have already discussed – who, despite 10 world championship titles (equally divided between individual and team…), has never managed, despite his three participations in the Games, to win the Gold medal in the Individual Tournament, a precious metal that he manages to wear around his neck only as a member, now 35 years old, of the Olympic champion team in the Seoul 1988 edition…
But, at least, Romankov can boast three individual medals – silver in Montreal 1976 and bronze both in 1980 in Moscow and in 1988 in Seoul – as well as the team silver in Moscow, while German Peter Joppich has never managed to get on the podium in five Olympic appearances of that specialty.
Nevertheless, born December 21, 1982 in Koblenz (Coblenz in Italian), a city of over 100 thousand inhabitants in the Palatinate, Joppich was rightly considered, “the child prodigy” of German Fencing, as, just 20 years old, he became World Champion at the World Championships at the beginning of October 2003 in Havana, defeating the Italian and reigning Champion, Simone Vanni, in the Final …
Triumph which Joppich matches the bronze in the team event which sees the redemption of Italy which takes the title thanks to the “Dream Team” composed, as well as by the aforementioned Vanni, also by Salvatore “All” Sanzo and Andrea Cassarà, an Italian trio who showed up at the 2004 Athens Games the following year, boasting the underdogs.
And, in fact, it could not have been otherwise, given that the “Three Musketeers“they get on the platforms of the “Helliniko Olympic Complex” Athenian as the top three in the world ranking, while Joppich holds the No. 5 seed, for a path which, in the Quarterfinals, sees the Azzurri still in the race, like the tEdesco, who however was eliminated (15-12) by the Frenchman Brice Guyart …
Transalpine athlete, n.4 in the seeding, who finally wins the Gold Medal, getting the better of the two Italians Cassarà (15-14 in the semi-final…) and Sanzo, defeated 15-13 in the Finalonly to then fail to confirm themselves in the team event, which saw France eliminated in the quarter-finals by Russia in a tournament that ended with the Italians redeeming themselves thanks to the triumph (45-42) over China in the Final.
Obviously, nothing serious for an athlete at his first Olympic experience and with a whole future ahead of him to make up for it, even if the following year, with the World Championships to take place at home, in Leipzig, in the second half of October 2005, Joppich only obtained bronze in the team eventwith the individual title won by Sanzo in the Final over the Chinese Zhang and the team title by France overcoming Italy in the final act…
But it is the following two years saw Peter Joppich at the top of international foilas he wins his second individual world title by defeating the not yet 21 year old Andrea Baldini in the Final at the World Championships at the beginning of October 2006 which took place in Turin, and then came close to an encore in the Team Tournament, with Germany losing to France in the Final, thus confirming the previous year’s title.
German foil player even overflowing the following year on the occasion of the World Championships at the beginning of October 2007 in St. Petersburg, edition “photocopy” of the previous one as Joppich (after having eliminated (15-9) Vanni in the quarterfinals and his compatriot Benjamin Kleibrink in the semi-final with an embarrassing 15-4…), he finds himself crossing blades again with Baldini, once again having the upper hand with a clear 15-9…
Same outcome as in Turin also for what concerns the team test, with the France to confirm themselves as Champions in a historic match (45-32) with Germanywhich is why you will understand how, in anticipation of the Olympic event made up of Beijing 2008 Games, there can be no greater favorite for Gold than the now 25 year old Joppich, even in the presence of fierce competition.
A prediction even more supported by the “bomba” which broke out a few days before the start of the Exhibition, that is, the exclusion of his most fearsome opponent, the blue Baldini who, in addition to being defeated by the German in the two aforementioned World Championship Finals, had overtaken him at the top of the world ranking…
An injustice for an alleged case of doping from which the Livorno was subsequently cleared, but in the meantime he had to say goodbye to the “Dreams of Glory” which increase for Joppich also taking into account that the Foil Tournament is reduced to just two athletes per nation as, due to an extremely absurd rule introduced by the IOC, the team event is excluded from the program.
He therefore climbed onto the platforms of the “Olympic Green Convention Center” of the Chinese capital as the No. 1 seed, Joppich is exempted from the first round like the other members of the top six of the World Rankings, in an Tournament which qualifies 8 of the top 9 seeds for the quarterfinals, the only one excluding the South Korean Choi (seeded n.7), defeated in the second round by the Japanese Yuki Ota, seeded n.9 …
In a test therefore stingy with big surprises, the biggest one provides it the 22 year old Japanese, who, opposed to the German, eliminates him 15-12, in what can be defined as the “Fall of the Gods”, given that the top four seeds are out, with the blue Cassarà defeated 14-15 by the Chinese Zhu after leading 7-4, the other home athlete Lei Sheng clearly surpassed (15-7) by Kleibrink and Sanzo a save the blue honor having narrowly prevailed (10-9) over the Frenchman Erwann Le Pechoux.
In partial consolation to Joppich, the next path of Ota, who gets the better (15-14) in the semi-final also over the vice Olympic Champion Sanzowhile we believe that he didn’t really digest the fact that what prevented the Japanese from winning the Gold Medal was precisely his compatriot Kleibrink, who in Beijing lived, without fear of contradiction, his “Day of Days”, given remains the only career success at an individual level between the Olympics, World Championships and European Championships…
A further disappointment for Joppich is also the fact, as previously stated, of not even being able to redeem themselves in the Team Trial as they were excluded from the programTournament which, perhaps, would have allowed him to take advantage of Kleibrink’s period of great form.
“You didn’t win, try again…“, warned an old advertising slogan and, in fact, age is still on the German’s side, having just turned 26, but perhaps it is the mind that is starting to be conditioned by “Olympic Curse”, given that in the following four years Joppich is still able to going to medal at the 2009 Antalya World Championships – individual bronze, defeated 15-11 by Zhu in the semi-final, and team silver, overcome 45-41 by Italy in the Final – and then climbed to the top step of the podium the following year…
In the Iridata exhibition held in Paris at the beginning of November 2010 – unusually negative for the blue colours, with no foil player capable of qualifying for the Quarterfinals – that’s it Joppich regained the luster of the best groups by taking his fourth world title (absolute record for a German fencer of any specialty…) overcoming Lei Sheng 15-11 in the Final, while in the team event Germany exited in the Quarterfinals, defeated 45-38 by Japan’s nightmare Ota.
Excluded from the individual test at the subsequent World Championships in Catania 2011 – which saw the thunderous redemption of the Italian Fioretto which monopolized the podium with Cassarà Gold, Aspromonte silver and Giorgio Avola bronze together with the Frenchman Victor Sintès – Joppich contributed to the bronze medal in the team event, beating Poland 45-33 after Germany had been defeated 45-36 from France in the semi-final…
Regained the place for the individual competition at the London 2012 Games – virtually “the last call“for a possible”Olympic Glory” being now close to crossing the threshold of 30 years – here Joppich does the “sacrificial victim” in favor of surprise of the Tournament, which materialized this time in the Egyptian Alaaeldin Abouelkassem, who eliminated him in the Round of 16 15-10 – after in the previous round the reigning Champion Kleibrink had also had to suffer (15-5) the “Ota’s harsh law” – and then competed for the Gold Medal with Lei Sheng, being narrowly defeated, 13-15.
In any case, at least, the platforms of the “Exhibition Centre London” ensure that Joppich’s Olympic participation does not end without any memory, even though we believe that it was not the bronze in the team event was a great consolation, especially due to the last-gasp defeat (40-41) in the semi-final against Japan which the four-time world champion suffers against, guess who, but Ota, obviously…
One Joppich still trying his luck at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Games, but now even the registry is against him, being eliminated in the second round (13-15) by Avola in South America and by the Czech Alexander Choupenitch (13-15) in Asia.
Having retired from the stage the following year, Peter Joppich certainly cannot be defined as a “Successful loser”, a term often used in sports, as it would be an insult to the four individual world titles won – and, after all, only Romankov did better than him in Foil – which is why we prefer to define his career as a “Magnificent unfinished”, deeming it the most appropriate…
We imagine you all agree…