KLEIBRINK Benjamin

Date of Birth: 30 Jul 1985

Age: 36

Gender: Male

Place of birth: DUSSELDORF

Birth Country:

Germany

Place of residence : BONN

Residence Country:

Germany

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Fencing	Men's Foil Individual	25
	Men's Foil Team GER Germany	MED

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Makuhari Messe Hall B Blue Piste	Men's Foil Individual Table of 32 #34 GER KLEIBRINK BKLEIBRINK Benjamin 11 EGY ABOUELKASSEM AABOUELKASSEM Alaaeldin 15	Finished
	Makuhari Messe Hall B Blue Piste	Men's Foil Team Table of 16 #2 CAN Canada 31 GER Germany 45	Finished
	Makuhari Messe Hall B Blue Piste	Men's Foil Team Quarterfinal 1 #9 USA United States 45 GER Germany 36	Finished
	Makuhari Messe Hall B Yellow Piste	Men's Foil Team Classifications 5-8 #13 GER Germany 45 HKG Hong Kong, China 38	Finished
	Makuhari Messe Hall B Yellow Piste	Men's Foil Team Placement 5-6 #18 ITA Italy GER Germany	Cancelled

Biographical Information

Highlights

Olympic Games

Year	Location	Foil Individual	Foil Team
2012	London, GBR	18	3
2008	Beijing, CHN	1	-

World Championships

Year	Location	Foil Individual	Foil Team
2019	Budapest, HUN	12	8
2018	Wuxi, CHN	55	15
2017	Leipzig, GER	25	6
2011	Catania, ITA	26	3
2010	Paris, FRA	26	5
2009	Antalya, TUR	12	2
2008	Beijing, CHN	-	2
2007	St. Petersburg, RUS	3	2
2006	Turin, ITA	5	2
2005	Leipzig, GER	10	3

European Championships

Year	Location	Foil Individual	Foil Team
2019	Dusseldorf, GER	26	2
2018	Novi Sad, SRB	15	5
2017	Tbilisi, GEO	37	4

World Cup overview - Three best ranks per season since 2016/2017

Year	Foil Individual	Foil Team
2019/2020	1 x 7th, 1 x 30th, 1 x 36th	1 x 8th, 1 x 9th, 1 x 11th
2018/2019	1 x 3rd, 2 x 21st, 1 x 51st	1 x 6th, 1 x 8th, 2 x 9th
2017/2018	1 x 16th, 1 x 29th, 1 x 44th	2 x 7th, 1 x 10th, 1 x 15th
2016/2017	1 x 7th, 1 x 15th, 1 x 42nd	1 x 5th, 2 x 7th, 1 x 9th

Grand Prix overview - Three best ranks per season since 2016/2017

Year	Foil Individual
2019/2020	1 x 29th
2018/2019	1 x 25th, 1 x 28th, 1 x 37th
2017/2018	1 x 29th, 1 x 49th, 1 x 62nd
2016/2017	1 x 16th, 1 x 58th

World Cup & Grand Prix - Ten best performances since 2016/2017

Rank	Year	Event	Competition	Location
3	2018/2019	Foil Individual	World Cup	St. Petersburg, RUS
5	2016/2017	Foil Team	World Cup	Cairo, EGY
6	2018/2019	Foil Team	World Cup	Bonn, GER
7	2019/2020	Foil Individual	World Cup	Bonn, GER
7	2017/2018	Foil Team	World Cup	Bonn, GER
7	2017/2018	Foil Team	World Cup	Cairo, EGY
7	2016/2017	Foil Individual	World Cup	Tokyo, JPN
7	2016/2017	Foil Team	World Cup	Bonn, GER
7	2016/2017	Foil Team	World Cup	Paris, FRA
8	2019/2020	Foil Team	World Cup	Bonn, GER
8	2018/2019	Foil Team	World Cup	Cairo, EGY

Benni (topsport-nrw.de, 31 Jan 2021)

Working out, going to the cinema. (stockheim-teamduesseldorf.de, 16 Apr 2019)

Occupation:

Business Law - German Sport University Cologne, Germany

Partner Anne Sauer

Languages spoken:

English, German

DFC Dusseldorf [Germany]

Ulrich Schreck [national], GER

Left (Facebook page, 15 May 2018)

Sporting relatives:

His partner Anne Sauer has represented Germany in fencing at multiple editions of the world championships. She made her debut at the tournament in 2013 in Budapest, Hungary. (SportsDeskOnline, 02 Mar 2021; fnweb.de, 13 Jul 2020)

In 2016 he suffered a traumatic brain injury after being attacked by a tourist outside a restaurant in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. He made his return to fencing in November 2016. (fechten.org, 12 Nov 2016; welt.de, 07 Jun 2016)

He missed the 2011 European Championships in Sheffield, England, due to a motorcycle accident that left him with an injured left shoulder. (sportal.de, 20 Apr 2011)

He began fencing in 1994 at Rheinisches Fencing Club in Dusseldorf, Germany. (wz.de, 30 Apr 2019; stockheim-teamduesseldorf.de, 16 Apr 2019; spox.com, 30 Sep 2012)

"I originally played roller hockey but when I was nine, I wanted to try something new so I began fencing. I do not remember the exact reason why. It was probably my mother's idea, but the decision was good. I like foil because it finds a middle ground between epee and sabre. Sabre is very fast, epee is more about patience and timing. Foil is somewhere in the middle, where you combine all the elements of fencing, both tactical and athletic." (wz.de, 30 Apr 2019; sport1.de, 28 Apr 2010)

To compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (wz.de, 30 Apr 2019; .stockheim-teamduesseldorf.de, 16 Apr 2019)

Winning an individual gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, a bronze in the team event at the 2012 Games in London, and winning his sixth national title in 2019. (stockheim-teamduesseldorf.de, 16 Apr 2019)

Philosophy:

"The most important thing about fencing is mental toughness, especially in decisive battles. It's just like a penalty shootout in football. It is also possible in fencing to be very successful without being the most talented, as long as you work hard." (sport1.de, 28 Apr 2010)

General Interest

General
RETIREMENT AND RETURN
In September 2012 he retired from the sport, citing the pressure of competing at elite level and a desire to build a new career away from sport. He went on to obtain an undergraduate degree in business law and a master's degree in business administration, and began working at an accountancy firm. He decided to return to fencing at the end of 2015. (sportstadt-duesseldorf.de, 16 Apr 2019; Reinische Post, 08 Feb 2016; taz.de, 03 Oct 2012; sportschau.de, 30 Sep 2012)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
He has served as a member of the athletes' commission of the International Fencing Federation [FIE]. (fie.org, 07 Oct 2017)

Milestones

He became the first male German fencer to win gold in individual foil at the Olympic Games, when he triumphed at the 2008 Games in Beijing. (SportsDeskOnline, 06 Jul 2017; sport1.de, 28 Apr 2010)

Social Media

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/BennyKleibrink/
https://instagram.com/benjamin_kleibrink/

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event
MED:: Medical

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