Valentina Vezzali, arguably the best ever female foil fencer, took a cautious attitude as she is preparing to win her consecutive fourth individual gold medal at the upcoming London Olympic Games.

The 38-year-old legend, who made history four years ago in Beijing where she became the first ever female foil fencer to win golds three times in a row, is now training in Norcia, a quiet town in the middle of Italy known for its air and scenery.

According to Vezzali, to triumph in London will be a hard mission as her fearsome and competitive rivals will be keen to end her domination.

"I will need to beat all my opponents if I want to win," she told Xinhua.

"I fear them all, no exception. I know I have to be great to beat any of them. The Olympics are such a special event that we will be in wonderful shape," she said.

"Compared with other championships, the Olympics seem to be an easier event as there are only 38 athletes competing. But it's exactly the opposite because it's the Olympics where everyone is so well trained and focused," she said.

"By winning three bouts you are already close to a medal but the atmosphere is so special that you also need to deal with emotions and nervousness," she added.

Vezzali, who under her name has five gold Olympic golds, three from individual events and two from team events, said the number counts for nothing when she steps onto the fencing platform in the London Olympic Games.

"It's just statistics and all I need to do is to train hard and be better than my opponents," she said.

She could have two fiercest contenders in her teammate Elisa Di Francisca and Arianna Errigo.

"I respect her and really enjoy to battle with her, it's very stimulating and I'd like to beat her," says Di Francisca, the reigning European champion.

Errigo tried to hide her ambition and looked forward to meeting Vezzali in the Olympics.

"What she has done is unbelievable and I think she is the greatest of all. She is a winning machine, but we are all very competitive so it's going to be some great Olympics," she said.

Vezzali could draw on her immense experience to avoid being distracted by emotion or huge public expectations, according to Stefano Cerioni, head coach of the Italian foil team.

"She is ranked No. 1 and has been there for many years. She has all the experience she needs to win again. She could be unbelievably focused despite all she has won," he said.

Cerioni reckoned it will lend more determination to Vezzali as she has been chosen as the flag-bearer for the Italian delegation in the opening ceremony of the London Olympics.

"It will only make her stronger," he said.

Vezzali still seemed a bit overwhelmed by the prospect to be the flag-bearer.

"It is very hard to describe what I felt when I knew I was going to be the flag-bearer. I feel very responsible for this role as I'm representing Italy but I also know that as soon as the ceremony will be over, I will return to the athletes' village and focus on the event. I just hope I will not stumble," she said.

Vezzali is held as a myth by the world fencers and lacks no admirers even among her male and female teammates, with Andrea Balnini being one.

"She is unique and I don't think anybody of us can try to imitate her. You would imagine she knows everything and doesn't need any advice," he said.

"But she is there always curious and this is because she wants to be perfect. She is amazing and I like to joke with her telling her I am trying to emulate everything she does...but it's impossible," he said.

For Vezzali, there was nothing special on her way to greatness.

"There are no mysteries, you need to always keep your passion,determination and the will to reach the goals you set for yourself. These are the only things that help you get up in the morning and be ready for some hard work," she said.

"The athlete's life isn't easy, and it can be even harder when you have a family," she said.

Married to a professional soccer player and with a child, Vezzali said her family was one of the cornerstones for her success.

"I must say that I also have a wonderful family who are very important for my career. Without them, and without my parents and my coaches, I could not have achieved so much," she said.

Vezzali comes from Jesi, a small town in the central region of Marche, curiously a place with a fencing tradition where many champions grew up, trained and pulled off numerous success. Among them are Cerioni, gold medalist in the 1988 Seoul Games, Giovanna Trillini, gold medalist in the 1992 Barcelona Games and the newcomer Elisa di Francisca.

In Vezzali's opinion, her former coach Ezio Triccoli, who learned to fence at the Zonderwater prison camp in South Africa during World War Two, left an everlasting legacy for the fencing tradition in Jesi.

"The special thing about Jesi is that there is a lot of enthusiasm and I'd like to use a phrase our former coach Triccoli used to say 'School teaches but champions make more champions.' So I believe that it is very important that we all still train there and give the opportunity to the younger athletes to train and compete with champions on a daily basis," she said.

"I think talent is very important but you also need a strong determination and a lot of passion. And by being all together, we can pass these values to the young athletes," she added.