Edoardo Alaimo

Edoardo Alaimo was the son of the renowned maestro Cesare Alaimo, one of the strongest Italian fencers in the early 1900s, who mentored Edoardo from an early age. A precocious talent, Edoardo finished third in the Catania foil tournament in 1907, at just 14-years-old. Three years later he won the Italian foil title, and by the time he was 19 demonstrated that he could compete with the best in the world.

Alaimo was selected for the 1912 Stockholm Olympics but failed to achieve outstanding results in either the individual sabre event, where he withdrew due to injury, or in the two team events: foil and sabre. After the Games, Alaimo finished second in the 1913 épée tournament at Vercelli but dominated in Rapallo, where he was the best in both foil and épée. Then, from 1914 onwards, his activity slowed down and, due to the World War I, he no longer achieved significant results.

Alaimo moved abroad to Scandinavia and Mexico where he competed and taught in fencing academies. Upon returning to Italy, he settled in Pola, where he also held several managerial positions. Having officially become a fencing master, in 1930 he came second in the professional épée world championship, beaten only by the champion Nedo Nadi. Alaimo continued to teach and occasionally appeared in exhibitions, before emigrating permanently to Mexico, where he died at the age of 69.