On this Day: August 9

August 9 is a day to rejoice for Italian sports fans, with Olympic successes appearing in every direction in a whole host of events. The Italian reputation in fencing and water polo was upheld by the latest crop of athletes, whilst in long distance swimming the home crowd in the United Kingdom were reduced to silence by an Italian star. 1973 - AC Milan hero Filippo Inzaghi was born in Piacenza, joining the main club in the city at the age of 12. After formally retiring in 2012, he ended a career which saw him become one of Milan's all time greats - whilst also earning international fans for his country Italy. He won 10 honours at the Rossoneri including the Champions League twice, and was part of the 2006 World Cup winning squad for the Azzurri. 1984 - A group of five Italian men became fencing heroes for their nation - clinching a gold medal at the Olympic Games in the men's team sabre event. Marco Marin, Gianfranco Dalla Barba, Giovanni Scalzo, Ferdinando Meglio and Angelo Arcidiacono etched their names into the record books at the expense of France and Romania who came second and third respectively. 1992 - In Barcelona, Spain, Italy beat the hosts in an enthralling Olympic Games gold medal match in water polo. A tense affair resulted in the Italians beating their rivals 9-8 after extra time, going one better than the 9-9 draw they contested in the group stage. It was the men's team's third Olympic gold medal in their history in the pool. 2012 - Expert long distance swimmer Martina Grimaldi claimed her first ever Olympic medal as she finished on the podium in London. She competed in the marathon 10 kilometre race in the iconic Hyde Park, stunning the home crowd as she usurped hot favourite Keri-Anne Payne to grab a bronze medal. She edged past the Brit by just 0.4 of a second.

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