Giuseppe Delfino

Giuseppe Delfino ( born November 22, 1921 in Turin, † August 10 1999 in Palazzo Canavese, Province of Turin ) was an Italian fencer who won with the sword four Olympic gold medals and two silver medals.

At the age of 30 years took Giuseppe Delfino 1952 in Helsinki for the first time participate in the Olympics. With the Italian epee team to the individual winner Edoardo Mangiarotti, he won gold.

In the 1956 Olympics he won with the team a week after his 35th birthday his second gold medal. In epee individual two days later, there was the curious situation that three Italian fencer, Carlo Pavesi, Giuseppe Delfino and Edoardo Mangiarotti, each with five victories and two defeats were after the final par. After the first round in the playoff had each of the three one win and one defeat. It was midnight when Mangiarotti lost twice in the second stabbing. Ultimately Pavese then won gold against Delfino and Mangiarotti. In retrospect we know that here three fencers in the playoff came together that should win successively the individual title in the epee.

With 38 years Giuseppe Delfino erfocht his greatest success at the Olympic Games in 1960. He won the playoff for the individual title against the British Allan Jay. Three days later, the Italian team in the finals against the British also won gold.

At the end of his career Giuseppe Delfino could act at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964 as a standard-bearer of the Italian Olympic Team. In individual competition, he did not reach the finals, with the team lost in the final against the Hungarian team and won silver again.