The great Mark Rakita is rightfully considered the father of the Russian sabre. One of Russia's most decorated fencers, he won his first Olympic gold back in Tokyo in 1964, and the second in Mexico City in 1968. In addition, he is a six-time world champion, a five-time European champion and a three-time USSR champion. Mark Rakita is also a great fencing coach and teacher, and it's not for nothing that he was awarded the title of Honored Coach of the USSR: he trained Olympic champions Viktor Krovopuskov and Mikhail Burtsev, as well as three—time world champion Sergei Koryazhkin. Rakita was feared because he was considered the smartest saber player on the globe and won not at the expense of strength, but at the expense of intelligence. Today Mark Rakita is 87, but he is still in the ranks – he is chairman of the Council of Elders and chairman of the Coaching Council of the Russian Fencing Federation.