LAUSANNE (May 11) – Dr. Premysl Herych, the former president of the Czech Fencing Federation, has passed away at the age of 88, the European Fencing Confederation reported.
Dr. Herych, a renowned and highly respected figure in the fencing community and devoted the majority of his life to the sport, succumbed in Prague to a long-term illness, shortly after his birthday.
As a fencer, Dr. Herych quickly mastered all three weapons and found success at youth level before representing Czechoslovakia at senior level. He was a national champion in the individual discipline and a five-team national team champion.
In 1953 he was a founding member of the Czech Fencing Club SLAVIA VS Praha, still one of the biggest and best clubs in the Czech Republic (now called USK Praha), and was its first president. He then became president of the Czechoslovak/Czech Fencing Federation from 1968 to 2001, and served as vice president of the Czech Olympic Committee from 1990 to 1998.
In 1991 he represented his federation in Vienna as one of the founders of the Union Européenne d’Escrime, which later became the European Fencing Confederation.
At the International Fencing Federation (FIE) he served for 20 years as member of the Calendar and Promotion commission.
The European Fencing Confederation and the FIE send their deepest sympathy and condolences to his family and to the Czech Fencing Federation.