Italy at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Italy at the
1920 Summer Olympics
IOC codeITA
NOCItalian National Olympic Committee
Websitewww.coni.it (in Italian)
in Antwerp
Competitors174 (173 men, 1 woman) in 18 sports
Flag bearerNedo Nadi
Medals
Ranked 7th
Gold
13
Silver
5
Bronze
5
Total
23
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games

Italy competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. 174 competitors, 173 men and 1 woman, took part in 79 events in 18 sports.[1]

Medalists

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Gold

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Medal Name Sport Event
 Gold Ugo Frigerio Athletics 3 km walk
 Gold Ugo Frigerio Athletics 10 km walk
 Gold Arnaldo Carli
Ruggero Ferrario
Franco Giorgetti
Primo Magnani
Cycling Team pursuit
 Gold Tommaso Lequio di Assaba Equestrian Individual jumping
 Gold Nedo Nadi Fencing Foil
 Gold Nedo Nadi Fencing Sabre
 Gold Baldo Baldi
Tommaso Costantino
Aldo Nadi
Nedo Nadi
Abelardo Olivier
Oreste Puliti
Pietro Speciale
Rodolfo Terlizzi
Fencing Team Foil
 Gold Antonio Allocchio
Tullio Bozza
Giovanni Canova
Tommaso Costantino
Andrea Marrazzi
Aldo Nadi
Nedo Nadi
Abelardo Olivier
Paolo Thaon di Revel
Dino Urbani
Fencing Team Épée Fencing
 Gold Baldo Baldi
Federico Cesarano
Francesco Gargano
Aldo Nadi
Nedo Nadi
Oreste Puliti
Giorgio Santelli
Dino Urbani
Fencing Team Sabre
 Gold Giorgio Zampori Gymnastics All-around
 Gold Arnaldo Andreoli
Ettore Bellotto
Pietro Bianchi
Fernando Bonatti
Luigi Cambiaso
Luigi Contessi
Carlo Costigliolo
Luigi Costigliolo
Giuseppe Domenichelli
Roberto Ferrari
Carlo Fregosi
Romualdo Ghiglione
Ambrogio Levati
Francesco Loi
Vittorio Lucchetti
Luigi Maiocco
Ferdinando Mandrini
Lorenzo Mangiante
Antonio Marovelli
Michele Mastromarino
Giuseppe Paris
Manlio Pastorini
Ezio Roselli
Paolo Salvi
Giovanni Tubino
Giorgio Zampori
Angelo Zorzi
Gymnastics Team
 Gold Ercole Olgeni
Giovanni Scatturin
Guido De Felip
Rowing Coxed pair
 Gold Filippo Bottino Weightlifting +82.5 kg

Silver

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Bronze

[edit]

Aquatics

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Diving

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A single diver represented Italy in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport. De Sanctis was unable to advance past the first round in either of his two events.

Men

Ranks given are within the semifinal group.

Diver Event Semifinals Final
Points Score Rank Points Score Rank
Guglielmo De Sanctis 3 m springboard 29 451.35 6 Did not advance
Plain high dive 33 98.0 7 Did not advance

Swimming

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Four swimmers, all men, represented Italy in 1920. It was the nation's fourth appearance in the sport. None of the individual swimmers advanced to the finals, though the relay did advance before finishing fifth in the final.

Ranks given are within the heat.

Men
Swimmer Event Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank
Gilio Bisagno 400 m free Unknown 6 Did not advance
1500 m free 25:18.0 3 Did not advance
Agostino Frassinetti 100 m free 1:11.8 1 Q Unknown 4 Did not advance
Mario Massa 100 m free 1:10.4 3 Did not advance
Antonio Quarantotto 400 m free Unknown 5 Did not advance
1500 m free Unknown 4 Did not advance
Gilio Bisagno
Agostino Frassinetti
Mario Massa
Antonio Quarantotto
4 × 200 m free relay N/A 11:01.2 2 Q Unknown 5

Water polo

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Italy competed in the Olympic water polo tournament for the first time in 1920. The Bergvall System was in use at the time. Italy forfeited its round of 16 match with Spain, then was defeated by Greece in the bronze medal tournament.

  • Squad
Round of 16
Spain  1–1  Italy Antwerp
Italy forfeited the match.
Bronze medal quarterfinals
Greece  5–1  Italy Antwerp
Final rank
11th

Athletics

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24 athletes represented Italy in 1920. It was the nation's fourth appearance in athletics. Frigerio gave the nation its first gold medals in the sport by winning both of the racewalking competitions. Italy's long-distance successes also included a bronze in the marathon and a bronze in the steeplechase. Overall, the nation placed fourth on the athletics medals leaderboard.

Ranks given are within the heat.

Athlete Event Heats Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank
Ernesto Ambrosini 800 m 1:59.4 4 Q 1:59.5 4 Did not advance
3000 m steeplechase 10:33.6 2 Q 10:32.0 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Valerio Arri Marathon 2:36:32.8 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Giuseppe Bernardoni 400 m 52.8 3 Did not advance
Ettore Blasi Marathon Did not finish
Giuseppe Bonini 800 m 1:58.8 2 Q 1:59.0 5 Did not advance
1500 m 6 Did not advance
Oprando Bottura Javelin throw 42.70 17 Did not advance
Carlo Butti Decathlon Did not finish
Daciano Colbacchini 110 m hurdles 15.6 1 Q 6 Did not advance
Giorgio Croci 100 m 11.2 3 Did not advance
Ugo Frigerio 3 km walk 13:40.2 OR 1 Q 13:14.2 OR 1st place, gold medalist(s)
10 km walk 47:06.4 1 Q 48:06.2 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Aurelio Lenzi Shot put 12.325 13 Did not advance
Discus throw 37.75 9 Did not advance
Costante Lussana 10000 m 10 Did not advance
Augusto Maccario 5000 m 15:23.2 5 Did not advance
10000 m 34:06.8 3 Q 32:02.0 4
Carlo Martinenghi 1500 m Did not start
5000 m Did not finish Did not advance
3000 m steeplechase Did not finish Did not advance
Giovanni Orlandi 100 m 6 Did not advance
200 m 23.8 3 Did not advance
Donato Pavesi 3 km walk 13:46.8 OR 1 Q Disqualified
10 km walk 48:12.0 4 Q Disqualified
Antonio Persico Marathon Did not finish
Arturo Porro 800 m Did not advance
1500 m 4:09.0 2 Q 4:12.4 7
Mario Riccoboni 100 m 11.2 2 Q 11.5 5 Did not advance
200 m 4 Did not advance
Agide Simonazzi 400 m 53.0 3 Did not advance
800 m Did not advance
Carlo Speroni 5000 m 15:27.6 1 Q 15:21.2 7
10000 m 32:13.1 4 Q Did not finish
Giovanni Tosi 400 m 52.6 4 Did not advance
Giuseppe Tugnoli Shot put 12.07 14 Did not advance
Vittorio Zucca 100 m 11.4 1 Q 5 Did not advance
Ernesto Ambrosini
Augusto Maccario
Carlo Speroni
3000 m team 25 3 Q 36 5
Giorgio Croci
Giovanni Orlandi
Mario Riccobono
Vittorio Zucca
4 × 100 m relay Disqualified Did not advance

Boxing

[edit]

Five boxers represented Italy at the 1920 Games. It was the nation's debut in boxing. Garzena had the best performance for Italy, taking all three of the nation's wins on his way to a bronze medal.

Boxer Weight class Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final / Bronze match
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Rank
Mariano Barbaresi Heavyweight N/A  Eluère (FRA)
L
Did not advance 9
Dario Della Valle Welterweight  Steen (NOR)
L
Did not advance 17
Vincenzo Dell'Oro Flyweight N/A  Albert (FRA)
L
Did not advance 9
Edoardo Garzena Featherweight Bye  Vincken (BEL)
W
 Cater (GBR)
W
 Fritsch (FRA)
L
 Zivic (USA)
W
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Leo Giunchi Lightweight N/A  Van Muyzen (BEL)
L
Did not advance 9

Cycling

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Twelve cyclists represented Italy in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport. Italy took its first Olympic cycling medal when its pursuit team won the gold. Italy also had three cyclists place in the top eight of the 50 kilometres event, though none was able to secure a medal.

Road cycling

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Cyclist Event Final
Result Rank
Camillo Arduino Time trial 5:03:16.8 23
Pietro Bestetti Time trial 5:02:15.0 21
Federico Gay Time trial 4:57:21.8 16
Dante Ghindani Time trial 5:21:50.4 32
Camillo Arduino
Pietro Bestetti
Federico Gay
Dante Ghindani
Team time trial 20:24:44.0 5

Track cycling

[edit]

Ranks given are within the heat.

Italy won gold in the Men's team pursuit
Cyclist Event Heats Quarterfinals Repechage semis Repechage final Semifinals Final
Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank
Vittorio Cavalotti Sprint Unknown 3 Did not advance
Ruggero Ferrario 50 km N/A Unknown 4
Luigi Gilardi 50 km N/A Did not finish
Francesco Giorgetti Sprint Unknown 2 Q Unknown 2 R Did not start Did not advance
50 km N/A Unknown 6
Primo Magnani 50 km N/A Unknown 8
Pietro Martinelli Sprint Unknown 3 Did not advance
Armido Rizzetto Sprint Unknown 3 Did not advance
Arnaldo Carli
Ruggerio Ferrario
Franco Giorgetti
Primo Magnani
Team pursuit N/A 6:20.0 1 Q N/A 5:10.8 1 Q 5:14.2 1st place, gold medalist(s)

Equestrian

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Ten equestrians represented Italy in 1920. It was the nation's second appearance in the sport. The Italian equestrians were fairly successful, winning five medals to take third place on the equestrian leader board for the Games. Italians took the top two spots in the individual jumping competition, as well as a bronze in the individual eventing. The nation also earned a medal in each of the two team events in which it participated, a silver in the eventing and a bronze in jumping (which, by the rules of the day, had to consist of entirely different riders than the individual jumping event).

Equestrian Horse Event Final
Result Rank
Carlo Asinari Savari Eventing 1245.00 19
Emilio Benini Passero Jumping 13.00 19
Giulio Cacciandra Facetto Eventing 1353.75 14
Ettore Caffaratti Caniche Eventing 1733.75 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Santorre de Rossi di Santa Rosa Neruccio Jumping 7.00 7
Tommaso Lequio di Assaba Trebecco Jumping 2.00 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Garibaldi Spighi Otello Eventing 1647.50 5
Virginia Jumping 8.00 10
Ruggero Ubertalli Proton Jumping 10.25 17
Alessandro Valerio Cento Jumping 3.00 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Alessandro Alvisi
Carlo Asinari
Giulio Cacciandra
Ettore Caffaratti
Raggio di Sole
Varone
Fortunello
Tradittore
Team jumping 18.75 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Carlo Asinari
Giulio Cacciandra
Ettore Caffaratti
Garibaldi Spighi
Savari
Facetto
Caniche
Otello
Team eventing 4735.00 2nd place, silver medalist(s)

Fencing

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Nineteen fencers represented Italy in 1920. It was the nation's fourth appearance in the sport. The Italian fencers took five of the six gold medals; the individual épée was the only event not won by an Italian (Italy's best result in that event was sixth place). Nedo Nadi took the individual gold medals in the foil and sabre; both he and his brother Aldo were on all three of the gold-medal teams. Aldo Nadi also took a silver medal in the individual sabre.

Ranks given are within the group.

Fencer Event First round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank
Olivier Abelardo Épée 3–3 6 q 7–3 1 Q 6–5 2 Q 5–6 6
Foil N/A 7–1 1 Q 4–1 2 Q 3–8 9
Baldo Baldi Sabre N/A 3–3 4 Q 5–1 2 Q 3–8 12
Aldo Boni Épée 3–5 6 Did not advance
Tullio Bozza Épée 5–2 2 Q 5–5 7 Did not advance
Giovanni Canova Épée 3–5 5 Q 5–6 7 Did not advance
Federico Cesarano Foil N/A 4–0 1 Q 0–5 6 Did not advance
Sabre N/A 5–2 2 Q 5–1 1 Q 3–8 10
Tommaso Constantino Foil N/A 4–1 2 Q 2–3 4 Did not advance
Francesco Gargano Sabre N/A 5–2 2 Q 3–3 3 Q 3–8 11
Aldo Nadi Foil N/A 6–0 1 Q 4–1 1 Q 6–5 5
Sabre N/A 6–1 1 Q 3–3 4 Q 9–2 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Nedo Nadi Foil N/A 7–1 1 Q 5–0 1 Q 10–1 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Sabre N/A 5–1 1 Q 6–0 1 Q 11–0 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Oreste Puliti Foil N/A 4–1 2 Q 4–1 2 Q 5–6 7
Sabre N/A 6–1 1 Q 4–2 3 Q 6–5 4
Giulio Rusconi Sabre N/A 4–3 3 Q 3–3 5 Did not advance
Giorgio Santelli Sabre N/A 5–3 3 Q 2–4 6 Did not advance
Pietro Speciale Foil N/A 4–2 2 Q 2–3 3 Q 1–10 12
Rodolfo Terlizzi Foil N/A 2–4 4 Did not advance
Paolo Thaon Épée 3–6 7 Did not advance
Dino Urbani Épée 5–3 2 Q 6–4 3 Q 4–7 7 Did not advance
Olivier Abelardo
Baldo Baldi
Tommaso Constantino
Aldo Nadi
Nedo Nadi
Oreste Puliti
Pietro Speciale
Rodolfo Terlizzi
Team foil N/A 4–0 1 Q 4–0 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Antonio Allochio
Baldo Baldi
Frederico Cesarano
Francesco Gargano
Aldo Nadi
Nedo Nadi
Oreste Puliti
Giorgio Santelli
Dino Urbani
Team sabre N/A 7–0 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Olivier Abelardo
Antonio Allochio
Tullio Bozza
Giovanni Canova
Tommaso Constantino
Andrea Marrazzi
Aldo Nadi
Nedo Nadi
Paolo Thaon
Dino Urbani
Team épée N/A 3–1 2 Q 5–0 1st place, gold medalist(s)

Football

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Italy competed in the Olympic football tournament for the second time. The team beat Egypt in the first round before falling to France in the quarterfinals. In the tournament for second place, the Italians beat Norway before losing to Spain in the consolation semis.

Team Roster
First round
Italy 2–1 Egypt
Baloncieri 25'
Brezzi 57'
Report Osman 30'
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Paul Putz (BEL)
Quarterfinals
France 3–1 Italy
Boyer 10'
Nicolas 14'
Bard 54'
Report Brezzi 33' (pen.)
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Henri Christophe (BEL)
Consolation first round
Italy 2–1 Norway
Sardi 46'
Badini 96'
Report Andersen 41'
Attendance: 500
Referee: Louis Fourgous (FRA)
Consolation semifinals
Spain 2–0 Italy
Sesúmaga 43' 72' Report
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Paul Putz (BEL)
Final rank
5th

Gymnastics

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Twenty-seven gymnasts represented Italy in 1920. It was the nation's fourth appearance in the sport. The Italians took gold medals in both of the events in which they competed, with Zampori taking the men's individual all-around and leading the Italians to a team gold. Italy did not compete in the free system or Swedish system team events.

Artistic gymnastics

[edit]
Gymnast Event Final
Result Rank
Luigi Costigliolo All-around 84.90 8
Vittorio Lucchetti All-around 80.12 18
Luigi Maiocco All-around 85.38 7
Giorgio Zampori All-around 88.35 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Angelo Zorzi All-around 80.51 16
Arnaldo Andreoli
Ettore Bellotto
Pietro Bianchi
Fernando Bonatti
Luigi Cambiaso
Luigi Contessi
Carlo Costigliolo
Luigi Costigliolo
Giuseppe Domenichelli
Roberto Ferrari
Carlo Fregosi
Romualdo Ghiglione
Ambrogio Levati
Francesco Loi
Vittorio Lucchetti
Luigi Maiocco
Ferdinando Mandrini
Lorenzo Mangiante
Antonio Marovelli
Michele Mastromarino
Giuseppe Paris
Manlio Pastorini
Ezio Roselli
Paolo Salvi
Giovanni Tubino
Giorgio Zampori
Angelo Zorzi
Team 359.855 1st place, gold medalist(s)

Modern pentathlon

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A single pentathlete represented Italy in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport.

A point-for-place system was used, with the lowest total score winning.

Pentathlete Final
Riding Fencing Shooting Swimming Running Total Rank
Adriano Lanza 21 19 11 21 19 91 22

Rowing

[edit]

Six rowers represented Italy in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport. Italian rowers reached the finals for the first time, winning the nation's first two Olympic rowing medals: a gold in the coxed pairs and a silver in the double sculls.

Ranks given are within the heat.

Rower Cox Event Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank
Nino Castelli N/A Single sculls 7:59.0 2 Did not advance
Pietro Annoni
Erminio Dones
N/A Double sculls N/A 7:25.4 1 Q 7:19.0 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Ercole Olgeni
Giovanni Scatturin
Guido De Felip Coxed pair N/A 8:10.0 1 Q 7:56.0 1st place, gold medalist(s)

Shooting

[edit]

Ten shooters represented Italy in 1920. It was the nation's second appearance in the sport, and the first since 1896. Greece took a silver medal in the team military pistol, its first medal in shooting since 1896. Italy's best result was a fourth-place finish in the team standing military rifle.

Shooter Event Final
Result Rank
Peppy Campus 50 m small-bore rifle Unknown
300 m free rifle, 3 pos. Unknown
Raffaele Frasca 50 m small-bore rifle Unknown
300 m free rifle, 3 pos. Unknown
Alfredo Galli 50 m small-bore rifle Unknown
300 m free rifle, 3 pos. Unknown
Franco Micheli 50 m small-bore rifle Unknown
300 m free rifle, 3 pos. Unknown
Ricardo Ticchi 50 m small-bore rifle Unknown
300 m free rifle, 3 pos. Unknown
300 m military rifle, standing 54 6
Giancarlo Boriani
Sem De Ranieri
Luigi Favretti
Camillo Isnardi
Riccardo Ticchi
300 m team military rifle, standing 251 4
Giancarlo Boriani
Raffaele Frasca
Alfredo Galli
Roberto Preda
Riccardo Ticchi
30 m team military pistol 1121 9
50 m team free pistol 2224 7
Peppy Campus
Raffaele Frasca
Alfredo Galli
Camillo Isnardi
Riccardo Ticchi
300 m team military rifle, prone 272 9
600 m team military rifle, prone 257 12
Peppy Campus
Raffaele Frasca
Alfredo Galli
Franco Micheli
Riccardo Ticchi
50 m team small-bore rifle 1777 7
50 m team small-bore rifle 4371 9
Sem De Ranieri
Raffaele Frasca
Alfredo Galli
Camillo Isnardi
Riccardo Ticchi
300 & 600 m team military rifle, prone 527 9

Tennis

[edit]

Four tennis players, three men and one woman, competed for Italy in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport. Balbi and Colombo reached the quarterfinals in the men's doubles, the best result for Italy that year.

Player Event Round of 64 Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals Rank
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Mino Balbi Men's singles Bye  Flaquer (ESP)
W 6–2, 6–4, 6–1
 Turnbull (GBR)
L 3–6, 6–3, 6–0, 6–8, 6–2
Did not advance 9
Alberto Bonacossa Men's singles  von Braun (SWE)
L 4–6, 6–1, 7–5, 6–2
Did not advance 32
Cesare Colombo Men's singles Bye  Nielsen (NOR)
W 6–2, 6–3, 6–1
 Lowe (GBR)
L 6–4, 6–0, 2–6, 7–5
Did not advance 9
Rosetta Gagliardi Women's singles N/A  Lindberg (SWE)
W 6–0
 McKane (GBR)
L 6–1, 1–6, 6–2
Did not advance 9
Mino Balbi
Cesare Colombo
Men's doubles N/A Bye  Simon & Syz (SUI)
W 6–3, 7–5, 3–6, 6–4
 Turnbull & Woosnam (GBR)
L 6–2, 6–8, 6–1, 6–3
Did not advance 5
Cesare Colombo
Rosetta Gagliardi
Mixed doubles N/A Bye  Halot & Storms (BEL)
L 8–6, 6–3
Did not advance 8

Tug of war

[edit]

Italy competed in the Olympic tug of war tournament for the first time in 1920, the final appearance of the sport in the Olympics. The Bergvall System was used in 1920. Italy lost its first match in the semifinals to the Netherlands. Because the Dutch went on to win the silver medal, Italy received an opportunity to contest the bronze. In the bronze medal semifinals, the Italians lost again, this time to the United States, to finish fifth and last in the tournament.

All matches were best-of-three pulls.

Semifinals
 Netherlands (NED)2–0 Italy (ITA)
 
Bronze medal semifinals
 United States (USA)2–0 Italy (ITA)
 
Final rank
5th

Weightlifting

[edit]

Five weightlifters, one in each weight class, represented Italy in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport. No Italian weightlifter placed worse than sixth, with two winning medals (including Bottino's gold) and two others just missing with fourth-place finishes.

Weightlifter Event Final
Result Rank
Pietro Bianchi 75 kg 235.0 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Filippo Bottino +82.5 kg 265.0 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Luigi Gatti 60 kg 195.0 4
Gino Mattiello 82.5 kg 235.0 6
Giulio Monti 67.5 kg 230.0 4

Wrestling

[edit]

Eight wrestlers, all in the Greco-Roman style, competed for Italy in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport. None of the Italian wrestlers advanced past the quarterfinals, or qualified for the silver or bronze rounds.

Greco-Roman

[edit]
Wrestler Event Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals Rank
Silver quarters Silver semis Silver match
Bronze quarters Bronze semis Bronze match
Giorgio Calza Heavyweight  Kraus (TCH) (W)  Vassboten (NOR) (L) Did not advance 12
Did not advance
Did not advance
Giovanni Cardinale Light heavyweight Bye  Wahlem (BEL) (L) Did not advance 10
N/A Did not advance
N/A
Carlo Corsanego Middleweight  Gorbière (FRA) (W)  Balej (TCH) (L) Did not advance 13
Did not advance
Did not advance
Giuseppe Gorletti Middleweight Bye  Fältström (SWE) (L) Did not advance 13
Did not advance
Did not advance
Enrico Porro Featherweight Bye  Svensson (SWE) (W)  Boumans (BEL) (L) Did not advance 9
N/A Did not advance
Did not advance
Walter Ranghieri Lightweight  Swigart (USA) (L) Did not advance Did not advance 18
Did not advance
Did not advance
Bruto Testoni Light heavyweight Bye  Sint (NED) (L) Did not advance 10
N/A Did not advance
N/A
Piero Vaglio Featherweight Bye  Boumans (BEL) (L) Did not advance 11
N/A Did not advance
Did not advance

Art Competitions

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Italy at the 1920 Antwerp Summer Games". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-29. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
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