Early life Kolombatovich was the son of
Yugoslavian immigrant, Oscar, born in Flushing, Queens in 1946. He grew up fencing from the age of 5 at one point receiving instruction from world renown fencing master,
Giorgio Santelli. He was a talented fencer in his own right winning many championships in his youth. He went on to fence for the
NYU Violets for two years before joining the Army. His competitive career ended with a back injury caused by a car accident.
Coaching career Kolombatovich spent a short time as an assistant fencing coach at NYU. This was before his hiring as an assistant coach for the
Columbia Lions fencing team in 1978. The following year he took over as head coach. He would hold the position for 33 years becoming one of the longest tenured coaches in
NCAA history. During his tenure his teams won 5 national championships producing 17 individual titles. Two fencers,
Erinn Smart and
James Leighman Williams, went on to win silver medals at the
2008 Summer Olympics.
Officiating career Along with his prolific coaching career, Kolombatovich was an avid referee. He refereed at three olympic games, and was on the
FIE officiating board from 2000 to 2008 including a stint as president. He revolutionized refereeing as he created a new grading system to judge referees, which is still used today.
Death Kolombatovich died on September 19, 2018, in
Sarasota, Florida, from
acute respiratory distress syndrome. ==See also==