Gene Hámori

Gene Hámori was a Hungarian who fenced for their victorious sabre team at the Melbourne Olympics, even though his country fielded a smaller team than usual because of the recent Soviet invasion. Shortly after the 1956 Olympics, Hámori defected to the United States and became a well-known fencer in this country as well, winning two US titles in individual sabre (1960, 1963) and representing the US at the 1964 Olympics. Hámori studied at the University of Budapest and then did graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania, earning a Ph.D. in physical chemistry. He won four U.S. national titles, all from 1960 to 1964. He worked as a research scientist, first with a plastics company in Philadelphia, and then doing post-doctoral work in biophysical chemistry at Cornell. In 1972 he moved to New Orleans where he taught at Tulane Medical School, and ran a local fencing salle with his wife, Annemarie.