Relatively Speaking

 Olympics Photo Quiz 8 

 Background 

Now largely forgotten outside of diehard fencing circles, triple Olympic gold winner Aldo Nadi was without question amongst the greatest swordsmen in the world in the era between the first and second world wars. The trouble from Aldo's point of view was that despite being one of the greatest exponents on the planet in foil, epee and sabre, he lived in the fencing shadow of his brother Nedo. Aged just eighteen, Nedo had taken a fencing gold at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics when Aldo was still a child. After the cancellation of the 1916 Games because of World War I the Nadi brothers travelled to the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp where twenty-one year Aldo scooped three golds and a silver. Despite this impressive haul his older sibling outdid him with five golds. After the Antwerp Olympics both brothers turned professional, Nedo heading to coach in Argentina while Aldo used his prize money from contests across Europe over the next decade to live the life of a diletante womanising playboy while based for many years in a luxury hotel in Paris. Running out of competitors to beat, and with the second world war approaching, Aldo Nadi moved to the United States where he coached both Hollywood actors and serious fencers. Amongst the latter numbered Janice-Lee Romary, who over the period 1948-68 became the first woman to appear at six Olympic Games and was the first woman to carry the flag of the USA into an opening ceremony at the Olympics when she led her country's athletes into the stadium at the Mexico City Games. As to which Nadi brother was the better, we can only speculate as they faced each other just once in public, when they agreed in advance they would draw because their father was amongst the audience watching the contest.

 Olympics Photo Quiz 8 

What nationality were the Olympic fencers Aldo and Nedo Nadi? 

The Answer will be published along with the next Highly Questionable quiz and associated blog post.

 Olympics Photo Quiz 7 Answer 

Wrestling was the sport in which the Rank gong man Ken Richmond competed at the Olympic Games held in London in 1948, Helsinki in 1952 and Melbourne in 1956.

The author of the Highly Questionable? quiz and trivia blog, Harry Reid, is a freelance question setter, writer and blogger. He can be contacted at harryreid@btinternet.com