Gregory's Story
Gregory Benko emerged as one of Australia’s leading fencers across foil, épée and sabre. He won silver in the team foil and bronze in the individual sabre at the 1970 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games before making his Olympic debut aged 19 at Munich 1972.
After Munich, Benko represented Wayne State University in the United States, winning three consecutive national collegiate foil titles from 1974 to 1976. At Montreal 1976, he placed sixth in the individual foil, becoming the first Australian fencer to reach an Olympic final, and also contested the individual épée.
Benko returned for Moscow 1980, finishing ninth in the individual foil and 17th in the individual épée. He completed his fourth consecutive Olympic appearance at Los Angeles 1984, placing 18th in the foil, before later contributing to the sport as a fencing coach.
