Vezzali eyes an Italian Olympic record

Two individual Olympic gold medals, five world titles and more than 60 World Cup tournament victories are not enough to satisfy Valentina Vezzali's competitive thirst.

'I could never lose my motivation, there are always new records to reach,' the foil fencer told Reuters. 'Especially in Beijing -- I think I could become the only Italian to win a third consecutive gold medal. But let's not talk too soon.'

The Athens and Sydney individual winner is back at 34 years of age after giving birth to a son, Pietro, in 2005 and undergoing knee surgery in 2006.

She did not miss a beat on her return to competition, shooting back to the top of the world rankings.

'It was really hard, but the will to come back to competition was so strong that I've been able to overcome the difficulties,' she said in an interview.

Born on Valentine's Day, Vezzali started fencing to emulate her sister Natalie in their hometown of Jesi, 300 km north of Rome.

The town of 40,000 has a rich fencing tradition and also produced Olympic foil champions Stefano Cerloni and Giovanna Trillini.

Trillini, 38, is ranked second in the world and also competes in Beijing. Vezzali beat her 15-11 in the Athens final to become the first repeat Olympic champion in women's foil since Hungarian great Ilona Elek in 1948.

Counting gold medals won in team events, Trillini and Vezzali have four each. If either of them wins the individual foil and Italy takes the team title in Beijing, they would tie the record for Olympic gold medals by an Italian athlete.

'My strongest competitors are my team mates, the Italians,' Vezzali said. 'We've known each other for so long, so we've got no tactical secrets.

'But let's not underestimate the Hungarians and the Poles.'

Vezzali's exploits have increased the profile of her sport in Italy where her striking features often grace the covers of magazines -- most recently the Italian edition of Vanity Fair.

An assistant police officer in her off-piste life, Vezzali may continue her career in law enforcement after retiring from fencing or work with the Italian National Olympic Committee.

'I don't think I'm going to give up for the moment,' she said. 'I just want to reach London 2012, this is my objective.'