The sport made its debut in the 1896 Games in Athens - in fact, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympic Games, was a fencer. Apparently, the Greek King George I was such an avid fan of fencing that he declared any match that had taken place before his arrival was null and void and had to be replayed in front of him.

Although sword fighting as a sport has existed since ancient Egypt, fencing itself is believed to have originated in Spain, with some of the earliest books on the sport written in 1458.