The event came down to a three-way barrage among the medalists, with two West German fencers joining Győző Kulcsár of Hungary (who had previously won gold in 1968 and bronze in 1972) in this tie-breaker fencing session.

Alexander Pusch won against both opponents in the barrage to take gold, with Hans-Jürgen Hehn defeating Kulcsár for silver.

The previous four years had seen the rise of Sweden and West Germany in the event; Edling had won the 1973 and 1974 World Championships; Alexander Pusch of West Germany was the reigning (1975) World Champion.

The United States appeared for the 16th time, most among nations, having missed only the 1908 edition of the event.

The 1976 tournament returned to a mix of pool and knockout rounds similar to that used in 1968, after the 1972 edition briefly used a pool-only format.