 Limardo at the Masters épée 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Rubén Dario Limardo Gascón | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1985-08-03)3 August 1985 (age 40) Ciudad Bolívar,Bolívar, Venezuela | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 75 kg (165 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fencing career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Fencing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weapon | Épée | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Piast Gliwice | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIE ranking | current ranking | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Rubén Dario Limardo Gascón (born 3 August 1985) is a Venezuelan left-handedépéefencer, five-time team Pan American champion, four-time individual Pan American champion, three-timeOlympian, and 2012 individual Olympic champion.[1]
Limardo competed in the2012 London Olympic Games, the2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, the2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, and the2024 Paris Olympic Games.
His younger brothers,Francisco andJesus, also compete in fencing on the international level. In 2015 he was elected to theNational Assembly for theUnited Socialist Party of Venezuela.[2]
Born inCiudad Bolívar, Limardo competed for his native country in the 2008 Olympicsépée competition,placing 23rd.[citation needed]
Limardo competed at the2012 Summer Olympics in London winning agold medal in the individual épée event at theExCeL Exhibition Centre on 1 August, two days before his 27th birthday.[3] He won the gold when he defeated Norway'sBartosz Piasecki 15–10 in the men's épée final, winning Venezuela's first ever fencing medal, andLatin America's first Olympic gold medal in épée in 108 years, afterRamón Fonst won the event in 1904.[4]
Limardo earned Venezuela's second gold medal in any Olympic Games with the first being at the1968 Summer Olympic Games whenFrancisco Rodríguez won gold as a boxer in thelight flyweight division.[5]
He competed in the team and individual épée events at the2016,2020, and2024 Olympic Games. In the individual event, he was eliminated in the round of 32 byAyman Mohamed Fayez ofEgypt,[6]Romain Cannone ofFrance,[7] andTibor Andrásfi ofHungary,[8] respectively. He was the flagbearer for Venezuela during the opening ceremony in the 2016 Olympics.[9]
Limardo began fencing at the age of seven, encouraged by an uncle who had discovered the sport in Hungary.[10] He was originally a right-handed foil fencer before injury caused him to switch both hand and weapon.[10]
He was awarded the VenezuelanOrder of the Liberator after winning his gold medal at the London Olympic Games. PresidentHugo Chávez also presented him with a gold replica ofSimon Bolivar's sword encrusted with precious stones.[11]
His brotherJesús Limardo also competes in fencing competitions. He has been a member of PiastGliwice fencing club and currently resides inŁódź, Poland.[12][13]
| Year | Location | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 |  London,United Kingdom | Individual Men's Épée | 1st[14] |
| Year | Location | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 |  Budapest,Hungary | Individual Men's Épée | 2nd[15] |
| 2018 |  Wuxi,China | Individual Men's Épée | 2nd[16] |
| Year | Location | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 |  Montreal,Canada | Team Men's Épée | 2nd[17] |
| 2008 |  Querétaro,Mexico | Individual Men's Épée | 2nd[18] |
| 2009 |  San Salvador,El Salvador | Individual Men's Épée | 1st[19] |
| 2009 | San Salvador,El Salvador | Team Men's Épée | 1st[20] |
| 2011 |  Reno,Nevada | Individual Men's Épée | 2nd[21] |
| 2011 | Reno,Nevada | Team Men's Épée | 3rd[22] |
| 2012 | Cancún,Mexico | Individual Men's Épée | 2nd[23] |
| 2012 | Cancún,Mexico | Team Men's Épée | 1st[24] |
| 2013 |  Cartagena,Colombia | Individual Men's Épée | 3rd[25] |
| 2013 | Cartagena,Colombia | Team Men's Épée | 1st[26] |
| 2015 |  Santiago,Chile | Individual Men's Épée | 1st[27] |
| 2015 | Santiago,Chile | Team Men's Épée | 2nd[28] |
| 2016 |  Panama City,Panama | Team Men's Épée | 1st[29] |
| 2017 | Montreal,Canada | Individual Men's Épée | 1st[30] |
| 2017 | Montreal,Canada | Team Men's Épée | 1st[31] |
| 2018 |  Havana,Cuba | Individual Men's Épée | 2nd[32] |
| 2018 | Havana,Cuba | Team Men's Épée | 2nd[33] |
| 2019 | Toronto,Canada | Individual Men's Épée | 1st[34] |
| 2022 |  Asunción,Paraguay | Individual Men's Épée | 1st[35] |
| 2022 | Asunción,Paraguay | Team Men's Épée | 1st[36] |
| Date | Location | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-06-01 | Montreal,Canada | Individual Men's Épée | 3rd[37] |
| 2011-02-11 |  Doha,Qatar | Individual Men's Épée | 3rd[38] |
| 2022-03-04 | Budapest,Hungary | Individual Men's Épée | 1st[39] |
| Date | Location | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-06-23 | Bogotá,Colombia | Individual Men's Épée | 1st[40] |
| 2009-06-20 |  Buenos Aires,Argentina | Individual Men's Épée | 1st[41] |
| 2010-02-27 |  Bern,Switzerland | Individual Men's Épée | 3rd[42] |
| 2010-05-07 |  Paris,France | Individual Men's Épée | 2nd[43] |
| 2011-03-18 | Paris,France | Individual Men's Épée | 3rd[44] |
| 2013-05-24 | Buenos Aires,Argentina | Individual Men's Épée | 1st[45] |
| 2015-02-13 | Vancouver,Canada | Individual Men's Épée | 3rd[46] |
| 2020-02-07 | Vancouver,Canada | Individual Men's Épée | 3rd[47] |
| 2021-11-19 | Bern,Switzerland | Individual Men's Épée | 1st[48] |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
| Olympic Games | ||
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| Preceded by | Flagbearer for VenezuelaRio de Janeiro 2016 | Succeeded by |
