Italy competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This nation has competed at every Summer Olympic Games in the modern era, except for the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis. The Italian National Olympic Committee (Italian: Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano, CONI) sent the nation's smallest delegation to the Games since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. A total of 285 athletes, 162 men and 123 women, competed in 22 sports.
Italy left London with a total of 28 Olympic medals (8 gold, 9 silver, and 11 bronze), finishing eighth in the overall medal standings. Seven of these medals were awarded to the athletes in fencing, five in shooting, and three in boxing. Six Italian athletes won more than a single Olympic medal in London. After suffering a major setback from Beijing, Italy's team-based athletes recaptured their success at these games as the men's water polo team and the men's indoor volleyball team won silver and bronze medals respectively. For the first time since 1984, Italy did not win an Olympic medal in swimming, except for the open water marathon.
Among the nation's medalists were shooters Niccolò Campriani and Jessica Rossi, who broke an Olympic and a world record to win gold medals in their respective events. Two Italian athletes won gold medals for the first time in Olympic history: archer Michele Frangilli, who competed at his fifth Olympics, in team archery, and taekwondo jin Carlo Molfetta in men's super heavyweight division. Foil fencer Valentina Vezzali, who won gold and bronze in London, became one of the most successful Italian athletes in history, with a total of eight Olympic medals. Meanwhile, boxer Clemente Russo managed to repeat his silver medal from Beijing.
Medalists
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Delegation
Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano (CONI) selected a team of 285 athletes, 162 men and 123 women, to compete in 22 sports; it was the nation's smallest team sent to the Olympics since 1988. Italy did not qualify teams in basketball, field hockey, football, and handball. There was only a single competitor in badminton, track cycling, BMX cycling, equestrian dressage, trampoline gymnastics, weightlifting, and Greco-Roman wrestling.
The Italian team featured past Olympic champions, four of them defending (super heavyweight boxer Roberto Cammarelle, foil fencer Valentina Vezzali, judoka Giulia Quintavalle, and freestyle swimmer Federica Pellegrini). Vezzali, who competed at her fifth Olympics as the most experienced athlete, became Italy's first female flag bearer at the opening ceremony since 1996.
Two naturalized Italian athletes made their multiple Olympic appearances as individuals. Sprint kayaker Josefa Idem, the oldest of the team at age 47, became the first female athlete to compete in eight Olympic Games, although she played for the former West Germany in her first two appearances. Archer Natalia Valeeva, on the other hand, competed at her sixth Olympics as an individual athlete, having played under three different banners (the other two were the Unified Team and her native land Moldova). Along with Valeeva, two other Italian athletes made their sixth Olympic appearance: trap shooter Giovanni Pellielo and windsurfer and four-time Olympic medalist Alessandra Sensini. Along with Vezzali, three other athletes made their fifth Olympic appearance: archer Michele Frangilli, sabre fencer and two-time world champion Luigi Tarantino, and skeet shooter and former Olympic gold medalist Ennio Falco. Meanwhile, gymnast Erika Fasana, at age 16, was the youngest athlete of the team.
Other notable Italian athletes featured taekwondo jin and Olympic silver medalist Mauro Sarmiento, sabre fencer and former Olympic gold medalist Aldo Montano, and rifle shooter and multiple-time World Cup champion Niccolò Campriani.
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The following is the list of number of competitors participating in the Games:
Archery
Qualified six athletes.
Men
Women
Athletics
Italian athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard):