Épée, Individual, Men

At the two most recent World Championships Italian fencers swept the podium. So strong were the Italians at the discipline that the gold and silver medallists from the 1955 World Championships only contested the team event in Melbourne. In hindsight the medals were decided when the Italians announced their entrants for this event. Oddly enough the Italians did not overly impress during the preliminary rounds but only came to the fore during the final pool. All three Italians ended with 5-2 records although Giuseppe Delfino had an opportunity to win outright which was frustrated on the deciding hit by American Richard Pew. The first barrage was inconclusive with each man winning and losing one bout apiece but at the second attempt Carlo Pavesi defeated both Giuseppe Delfino and Edoardo Mangiarotti to claim the Olympic title. Delfino then beat reigning champion Mangiarotti for the silver medal. All three men would return as part of the victorious Italian team in Rome with also adding the individual gold. Mangiarotti’s 3 medals in Melbourne gave him 11 total, 2nd only to Paavo Nurmi at the time. In Rome his 2 medals would take him to a total of 13 would make him #1 on the all-time Olympic medal list to that point – though it was surpassed in 1964 by Larysa Latynina.