RIO DE JANEIRO - Italy has a chance to become the fifth NOC in history to win 50 Olympic gold medals in a specific sport as the fencing competition gets under way on Saturday 6 August at the Carioca Arena 3.
* Italy has won a record 48 gold medals in fencing. France follows with 41 gold medals in the sport.
* Before the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, only four NOCs have won at least 50 gold medals in a specific sport: USA in athletics, swimming and shooting, Soviet Union in artistic gymnastics and athletics, Australia in swimming, and Great Britain in athletics.
* Valentina VEZZALI (ITA), Nedo NADI (ITA) and Edoardo MANGIAROTTI (ITA) all have won a record six gold medals for Italy at the Olympic Games.
* Italy has won at least two gold medals in fencing at each of the last six Olympic Games, since winning only one in Seoul in 1988.
* Geza IMRE (HUN) will be 41 years and 230 days old on the day of the gold medal match in the men's epee individual and he can become the second oldest winner of an individual event, after Lucien GAUDIN (FRA), who was 41 years and 315 days old when he won the same event in 1928.
* Aldo MONTANO (ITA) – winner at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games – can claim his second gold medal in men's sabre individual.
* Of the six fencers in the MONTANO family, Aldo has won the most medals, four (G1-S1-B2). His grandfather Aldo MONTANO (ITA) won two silver medals and his father Mario Aldo MONTANO (ITA) won three (G1-S2).
* Furthermore, Aldo MONTANO's uncles Mario Tullio MONTANO (ITA, G1-S1), Tommaso MONTANO (ITA, S1) and Carlo MONTANO (ITA, S1) all won medals.
* Men's team sabre and the women's team foil were on the programme in London, but will not be contested in Rio.
Photo © Getty images / Rio 2016