Mark Petrovich Midler (24 September 1931 – 31 May 2012) was a Soviet Russian foil fencer. He competed at four Olympic Games, at which he won two gold medals.

Early and personal life

Midler was born in Moscow, in the Soviet Union, and was Jewish.

Fencing career

Midler was a member of the USSR National Fencing Team between 1951 and 1967. He trained at Burevestnik in Moscow. Midler won the Soviet individual foil title six times (1954–57, 1963, and 1965) and the Soviet Cup in 1961.

World Championships

Midler won four consecutive World Championships in Foil, in 1959 to 1962. He also won a silver medal in 1957 and bronze medals in 1959 and 1961. Along with his Soviet teammates, he won the World Team Championships in Foil five times: in 1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, and 1966. They also won a silver medal in 1967.

Olympics

Midler was captain of the Foil team for the 1960 Olympic Games and the 1964 Olympic Games. They won the gold medal in Team Foil at both Olympics.

Coaching career

Midler coached fencing for the Olympic teams of the Soviet Union and Russia. From 1971 until 2000, Midler was the coach of the Soviet and later Russian national foil team. He was also the head coach of the Soviet 1980 Olympic foil team, Unified Team 1992 Olympic foil team, and Russian 1996 and 2000 Olympic foil teams.

Awards

Midler was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1983. In 1960 he was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor.