Paul Pesthy

Paul Pesthy started in pentathlon as a teenager in Hungary, before emigrating to the United States in 1958. Pesthy competed in pentathlon only at the 1964 Olympics, but was a member of the U.S. Olympic fencing team in 1964, 1968, and 1976, and is a leading candidate for the 1984 team. While at Rutgers, Pesthy won the IFA épée individual in 1964, and the NCAA épée individual in 1964 and 1965. He was also a member of the only championship team Rutgers ever fielded, in épée at the 1964 IFAs. Pesthy won the U.S. modern pentathlon championship three times and was an outstanding fencer – and not merely among pentathletes. He won the AFLA national title in épée individual five times, only one short of the record. Representing the New York AC, he was a member of many national championship épée teams. Pesthy later became a faculty member in physical education at San Antonio College.