Valentina VEZZALI

After winning numerous junior fencing championships, she won her first professional medal, a bronze at the European Championships in Linz. The following year she won two silver medals at the World Championships.

She made her Olympic debut at the Atlanta Games, winning a silver medal in the individual foil event and a gold medal in the team event. In 1999 she won the Fair Play Menarini International Award.

At Sydney she snatched her first individual Olympic triumph in foil, as well as the gold medal in the women’s team competition. It was the beginning of a winning cycle that would see her on the top step of the podium in individual foil competitions for three consecutive editions of the Olympic Games, including Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.

She closed her competitive career with an impressive list of achievements. Among others, 9 Olympic medals, including 6 golds, 24 World Championship medals, including 15 golds, and 11 individual victories in the World Cup. Results that make her the most successful female athlete ever in foil.