A. Van Zo Post

Van Zo Post (seated) with William Scott O'Connor, Charles Tatham, and C. C. Nadal in 1891
Medal record
Men's fencing
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1904 St. Louis Singlestick
Gold medal – first place 1904 St. Louis Team foil
Silver medal – second place 1904 St. Louis Foil
Bronze medal – third place 1904 St. Louis Épée
Bronze medal – third place 1904 St. Louis Sabre

Albertson Van Zo Post (July 28, 1866 – January 23, 1938) was an American fencer and writer. He earned two gold medals in the 1904 Summer Olympics as well as a silver and two bronze medals, and also competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics.[1]

Post was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Caroline Burnet, a daughter of General Nathaniel McLean, and Henry A. V. Post, an engineer and sharpshooter during the American Civil War. Albertson, known as Van Zo, was the eldest of seven children; his brother Edwin married the etiquette writer Emily Post.[2] He studied civil engineering at the Columbia College School of Mines, graduating in 1889.[3] Shortly after the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, Van Zo entered the 12th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army, serving from May 2 to December 22, 1898 and achieving the rank of captain.[4]

In the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Post won the gold medal in the singlestick and team foil competition, silver in individual foil and bronze in individual épée and individual sabre.[5] Although from the United States, Van Zo Post was listed as representing Cuba in the Olympics. The majority (81%) of Olympic athletes at the 1904 games were from the United States, but were listed as representing various countries.[6] Eight years later in Stockholm he reached to the quarterfinals in individual foil, individual épée and individual sabre and did not advance from first round in the team épée competition.

He was also an author, penning the novels Retz (1908) and Diana Ardway (1913), the latter of which was adapted into the 1919 silent comedy Satan Junior.[2][5]

In 1933, at the age of 65, Post married the educator Meta Louise Anderson.[7] Post died in New York City in 1938,[5] and his widow died in 1942.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Albertson Van Zo Post". Olympedia. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  2. ^ a b Claridge, Laura P. (2008). Emily Post: Daughter of the Gilded Age, Mistress of American Manners. New York: Random House. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-58836-755-6.
  3. ^ Post, Marie Caroline (1905). The Post Family. New York: Sterling Potter. p. 260.
  4. ^ New York in the Spanish-American War 1898: Part of the Report of the Adjutant-General of the State for 1900. Vol. II. Albany: James B. Lyon. 1900. p. 299.
  5. ^ a b c "Albertson Van Zo Post Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2010-04-02.
  6. ^ Mallon, Bill (1998). "1904 Olympic Games – Analysis and Summaries" (PDF). LA84 Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2018-09-01.
  7. ^ Ringrose, Hyacinthe (1939). The International Blue Book, etc. Hyacinthe Ringrose. p. 496.
  8. ^ "Newark Educator Dies in Auto Crash; Dr. Meta Anderson Post, Noted for Aid to the Mentally Retarded, Was 53". The New York Times. May 27, 1942.

External links

Olympic Fencing Champions in Men's Team Foil
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