Aldo Montano (fencer born 1978)

Aldo Montano (born 18 November 1978) is an Italian fencer and a four-time Olympic medalist.

He received a gold medal in sabre individual at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. On October 11th, 2011, he won the gold medal at the World Championships in Catania, Italy.

He is the third generation of his family to win a fencing medal for Italy at the Olympic Games. Aldo initially took up foil, but switched to sabre so he could follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and father. His grandfather, Aldo Montano, won silver medals on the team event in sabre at the 1936 Summer Olympics and the 1948 Summer Olympics. Aldo's father, Mario Aldo Montano, was part of the Italian sabre team that won the gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics, and the team silver medals for sabre at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and again at the 1980 Summer Olympics. His uncles (Mario Aldo Montano and Tommaso Montano) were also on the same team as his father (at both the 1972 and 1976 Olympic events). Another uncle, Carlo Montano, won silver in team foil in 1976.

Montano was engaged to the showgirl Antonella Mosetti. Since 2015 he was in a relationship with the Russian track and field athlete Olga Plachina, born in 1996. They got married in 2016 and as of December 2016 are expecting their first child, a girl, who they want to name Olimpia.

Montano is one of the most successful Italian sabre fencers of all time, surpassing the success of his father and grandfather as fencers. He has four Olympic medals, one gold for the individual event in 2004 Summer Olympics, a silver for the team event in 2004 and bronze medals for the team events in 2008 and 2012, respectively.

The gold medal bout in 2004 was a "thrilling" final against Hungary's Zsolt Necsik, with a final score of 15-14. Necsik established an early lead of 5-1, while Montano struggled with a leg cramp. The score remained close during the entire bout, with many close calls, but the final touch by Aldo demonstrated his strength on offense with a powerful redoublement attack.

Aldo Montano has also been very successful at the World Championships, having one gold medal, five silver medals and three bronze medals for individual and team events. He also has seven European Championships medals, five of them gold, as well as a gold medal from the 2005 Mediterranean Games.