Italy

Italy has never missed an Olympic Games nor an Olympic Winter Games. Although it is usually considered not to have competed in 1896, research in the 1990s discovered that an Italian shooter named Giuseppe Rivabella did compete in 1896. In 2009, Olympic historians discovered that Olympic cyclist Frank Bizzoni was still an Italian citizen when he competed in 1904. He was formerly thought to have been an USA athlete, but his appearance gives Italy a competitor at all Olympic Games. Italy did not form a National Olympic Committee until 1908, and it was not until 1915 that this committee was recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Italy has had success in many different sports, but has often been the dominant country in cycling and fencing. Italy has won 694 Olympic medals, 248 of them gold. Of these, 114 medals and 37 gold have been won at the Olympic Winter Games. Italy hosted the Games of the XVIIth Olympiad at Rome in 1960, the 7th Olympic Winter Games at Cortina d’Ampezzo in 1956, and the 20th Olympic Winter Games in Torino (Turin) in 2006.

Fencer Edoardo Mangiarotti has won the most medals of any Italian Olympian, with 13. He is trailed by female cross-country skier, Stefania Belmondo, who has won 10. Both Mangiarotti and fencer Nedo Nadi have won six gold medals, while female fencer Valentina Vezzali joined them in 2012 winning her sixth gold medal.

In 1975 the Olympic Committee of Italy was awarded with the Olympic Cup.