The son of Italo Santelli, Giorgio Santelli started fencing at the age of seven. He concentrated on fencing but made successful excursions into football (soccer), tennis, and sculling. After his successful participation at the 1920 Antwerpen Olympics, he was the 1922 Hungarian Sabre Champion. In the same year, he was Austrian Champion with the sabre and foil and participated in the World Championships. In Budapest he had attended business school. Although born in Hungary, he always kept his Italian citizenship, and he emigrated to the United States in 1924. In New York City he founded Salle Santelli and choreographed the fencing scenes for a number of Broadway productions. He was the US Olympic Coach from 1928 to 1952. In 1924 Santelli saved the family honor by winning a duel, which had its roots in a controversy during the Paris Olympics. He was married to Baroness Gizella Buskas, but they divorced in 1932, and Santelli later remarried in the US.
Italy