Ecaterina Stahl-Iencic

Ecaterina Stahl-Iencic (31 July 1946 – 26 November 2009) was a Romanian foil fencer, world champion in 1975. She competed at five Olympics from 1964 to 1980,[2] winning team bronze medals in 1968 and 1972.[4][5]

Ecaterina Stahl-Iencic
Personal information
Full name	Ecaterina Clara Stahl-Iencic
Nickname(s)	Kati[1]
Born	(1946-07-31)31 July 1946 Satu Mare, Romania
Died	26 November 2009(2009-11-26) (aged 63) Satu Mare, Romania
Height	163 cm (5 ft 4 in)[2]
Weight	60 kg (132 lb)
Sport
Sport	Fencing
Weapon	Foil
Hand	right-handed
Club	CSA Steaua[2]
Former coach	Alexandru Csipler Andrei Valce Zilaghi Iosif[3]
Retired	1984
Medal record Representing  Romania Olympic Games 1968 Mexico City Team foil 1972 Munich Team foil World Championships 1975 Budapest Foil 1965 Paris Team foil 1970 Ankara Team foil 1966 Moscow Foil 1967 Montreal Team foil 1973 Gothenburg Team foil 1974 Grenoble Team foil 1975 Budapest Team foil 1977 Buenos Aires Team foil

Biography

She was born Katalin Jencsik. (Hungarian name order Jencsik Katalin) She belonged to the Hungarian minority in Transylvania. [5] she took up fencing when she was 14 at local club Unio Satu Mare under the coaching of Alexandru Csipler.[6] There she became friends with Ileana Gyulai, with whom she would fence in the Romanian national team, and with József Szepessy, who would become team world champion with Germany in 1973.[1]

In 1964, at 18 years, Stahl won the Romanian national championship with Unio, and transferred to CSA Steaua in Bucharest.[6] The same year, she took part in her first Olympics in the team foil event. Romania was defeated by the Soviet Union in quarter-finals and finished 5th after prevailing over France. In 1965 she won the Junior World Championships in Rotterdam. She also earned a team silver medal with Romania at the senior 1965 World Fencing Championships. She earned her first major individual medal, a bronze, at the 1966 World Fencing Championships. She would earn two individual medals, including gold in 1975, and seven team medals at the World Championships throughout her career.[6]

In 1967 Stahl married István Stahl, a sports journalist at Hungarian-language magazine Friss Újság.[6] The couple had two daughters, Gabriela and Cristina, who became a foil fencer too. In 1968 Stahl took part in her second Olympics. This time, she earned a team bronze medal, along with Ana Pascu, Ileana Drîmba, Olga Szabo and Maria Vicol.[7] She took another bronze medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics with the same teammates, Maria Vicol being replaced by Ileana Gyulai.[8]

After her retirement in 1984 Stahl became a fencing coach at CS Satu Mare, in her home town.[6] She trained amongst others Olympic silver medallist Rita König and her own daughter, Olympian Cristina.[3] She was named in 2006 honorary citizen of Satu Mare.[9] She died on 26 November 2009 of colon cancer.[1] Her name was given in 2015 to the Satu Mare Cup, a competition of the European women's foil circuit for cadets.[10]

References

1. "Noiembrie negru". Gazeta Sporturilor. 27 November 2009.
2. "Ecaterina Stahl-Iencic Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
3. Ecaterina Stahl. Romanian Olympic Committee
4. "Olympics Statistics: Ecaterina Stahl-Iencic". databaseolympics.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-18. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
5. Egyetemes magyar sport – Lapozgató (53.) - 2013. december 30., hétfő - Háromszék, független napilap Sepsiszentgyörgy. 3szek.ro. Retrieved on 2016-10-01.
6. "Adio, doamna Stahl". ProSport (in Romanian). 28 November 2009.
7. "România la Jocurile Olimpice de vară din 1968" (in Romanian). Agerpres. 23 July 2012.
8. "România la Jocurile Olimpice de vară din 1972" (in Romanian). 23 July 2012.
9. "Gyászol a szatmári sport, elhunyt Stahl Katalin" (in Hungarian). Szatmár.ro. 26 November 2009.
10. Daniel Remeș (29 January 2015). "Doi foști mari campioni ai scrimei românești, Ecaterina Stahl și Vasile Costa vor fi omagiați săptămâna viitoare la Satu Mare" (in Romanian). Romanian Fencing Federation.