George Calnan
George Calnan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | George Charles Calnan |
| Born | January 18, 1900 Boston, Massachusetts, US |
| Died | April 4, 1933 (aged 33) Off the coast of New Jersey, US |
| Cause of death | The crash of USS Akron |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1918 – 1933 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Alma mater | United States Naval Academy |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's fencing | ||
Representing the  United States
| ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 |
1928 Amsterdam | Epee, individual |
|
1932 Los Angeles | Foil, team |
|
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
[edit]- ^ a b "George Calnan". Olympedia. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
- ^ "George Calnan". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
- ^ "Olympics Statistics: George Calnan". databaseolympics.com. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
External links
[edit]- 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.
- 1900 births
- 1933 deaths
- American male épée fencers
- Navy Midshipmen fencers
- Fencers at the 1920 Summer Olympics
- Fencers at the 1924 Summer Olympics
- Fencers at the 1928 Summer Olympics
- Fencers at the 1932 Summer Olympics
- Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in fencing
- Sportspeople from Boston
- United States Navy officers
- Accidental deaths in New Jersey
- Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics
- Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1933
- Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States
- Oath takers at the Olympic Games
- American male foil fencers