Helene Mayer
German fencer (1910–1953)
海伦娜·梅耶 · 헬레네 마이어
- Born
- 20 December 1910, Offenbach am Main
- Died
- 15 October 1953, Heidelberg
- Citizenship
- Germany
- Sport
- fencing
- Occupation
- fencer, athlete
Helene Julie Mayer (20 December 1910 – 10 October 1953) was a German fencer who won the gold medal at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, and the silver medal at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. She competed for Nazi Germany in Berlin, despite having been forced to leave Germany in 1935 and resettle in the United States because she was of Jewish descent. She studied at American universities, and later returned to Germany in 1952 where she died of breast cancer.
Mayer had been called the greatest female fencer of all time, and was named by Sports Illustrated as one of the Top 100 Female Athletes of the 20th Century, but her legacy remains clouded. At the Olympics in Berlin, where she was the only German athlete of Jewish origin to win a medal, she gave the Nazi salute during the medal ceremony and later said it might have protected her family that was in labor camps in Germany. Some consider her a traitor and opportunist, while others consider her a tragic figure who was used not only by Nazi Germany but by the International Olympic Committee to prevent a boycott of the Games.
Competitions
| Competition | Year | Result |
|---|---|---|
| fencing at the 1928 Summer Olympics – women's foil | 1928 | |
| 1932 Summer Olympics | 1932 | |
| fencing at the 1936 Summer Olympics – women's foil | 1936 |
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q61006 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.