Blue Olympic dreams: Nacra 17 and RS:X in the hunt for a medal

The Tokyo Olympics have officially begun, and for sailing, whose races will be held in Enoshima Bay as in 1964, the countdown to the start of the regattas has begun. It starts on July 25 with the sailboards (RS:X) and Lasers, and below we will also tell you how you can follow the races on TV. First, however, after telling you about Silvia Zennaro and Ferrari-Calabrò ,Elena Berta and Bianca Caruso of the women’s 470, and Marta Maggetti of the women’s RS:X, we present the last two Italian “teams,” the men’s RS:X and the Nacra 17, the “sharpest” arrows of the Italian bow .

RS:X MALE / DREAMING YOU CAN

Mattia Camboni, 24 from Civitavecchia, will be making his second Olympics in Tokyo, following an excellent 10th place finish in Rio 2016. Mattia’s talent has also come to the fore in this four-year period with excellent results, including three medals at the European Championships (bronze 2017, gold 2018, silver 2021), 1st in the 2019 World Cup Final, gold at the 2018 Mediterranean Games, and silver at the 2019 test event at the Enoshima Olympic regatta course in Japan. His has been a major technical and physical growth over these four years, and his second Olympics is definitely different than Rio 2016. If in Brazil he was the very young outsider, in Tokyo Camboni goes for the big result and can put no limits on his ranking ambitions.

NACRA 17 / MEDAL GOAL

The mixed foiling catamaran has seen Italian crews excel for much of the four-year term. The federal technical choice fell on the pair formed by Trentino’s Ruggero Tita, 29, and Rome’s Caterina Marianna Banti, 24. In the four-year period, this crew has won three European titles (2017, 2018, and 2020), one world title (2018), as well as top placings on the Enoshima Olympic race course (2nd in the 2018 World Cup, 1st in the 2019 Pre-Olympic Test Event, and 3rd again in the 2019 World Cup). Needless to hide, the Italian Nacra 17 is aiming for a medal. Results in the four-year period say the dream is within their grasp, now they need to take the final step into the waters of Enoshima.

HOW TO FOLLOW SAILING AT THE OLYMPICS: SCHEDULE AND TV

SUNDAY, JULY 25
05.00-11.00 On the water will be: men’s RS:X, women’s RS:X, men’s Laser, women’s Laser Radial

MONDAY, JULY 26
05.00-11.00 On the water will be: men’s RS:X, women’s RS:X, men’s Laser, women’s Laser Radial

TUESDAY, JULY 27
05.00-11.00 On the water will be: men’s Laser, women’s Laser Radial, Finn, 49er and 49erFX

WEDNESDAY, JULY 28
05.00-11.00 On the water will be: men’s RS:X, women’s RS:X, Finn, 49er and 49erFX, men’s 470, women’s 470 and Nacra 17

THURSDAY, JULY 29
05.00-11.00 On the water will be: men’s RS:X, women’s RS:X, Finn, men’s Laser, women’s Laser Radial, men’s 470, women’s 470 and Nacra 17

FRIDAY, JULY 30
05.00-11.00 On the water will be: men’s Laser, women’s Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX, men’s 470 and women’s 470

SATURDAY, JULY 31
05.00-11.00 On the water will be: 49er, 49erFX, Finn, Nacra 17. Medal Race: men’s RS:X and women’s RS:X

SUNDAY, AUGUST 1
05.00-11.00 On the water will be: men’s 470, women’s 470, Finn, Nacra 17. Medal Race: Men’s Laser, Women’s Laser Radial

MONDAY, AUGUST 2
05.00-11.00 On the water will be: men’s 470, women’s 470. Medal Race: 49er, 49erFX

TUESDAY, AUGUST 3
07.30-9.55 Medal Race: Finn, Nacra 17

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4
07.30-9.55 Medal Race: men’s 470, women’s 470

To follow the regattas on TV there are different options: for those with TIMVision, Amazon Prime and Fastweb subscriptions, there will be the Discovery+ offer with channels by discipline, perhaps the most comprehensive offer. Alternatively, there is the service offered by RAI, live on Rai 2 and Rai Sport, where sailing will probably be given space during the second half of the program when the races get into full swing, since RAI has purchased a number of hours of live coverage, limited to 200.

Mauro Giuffrè