Olympic dreams, discovering the blues: believe it Marta!

Lhe Tokyo Olympics, rescheduled for the summer of 2021 from July 23 to Aug. 8, are near, and for the blue expedition it is now all in Japan training in Enoshima Bay where the regattas will be held. Italy has not won an Olympic medal in sailing since Beijing 2008, when came Diego Romero’s bronze in the Laser and Alessandra Sensini’s silver in the RS:X. For the Olympics in Japan, which for sailing will take place in Enoshima, Italy qualified in the women’s Laser, 470, RS:X and Nacra 17, however, qualification was not achieved in the men’s and women’s 49er as well as the men’s Laser. The Olympic team going to the Olympics is young and ambitious, on paper all of them can make it to the medal race and some even aim to medal. The best arrow in the blue bow is probably the Nacra 17, but there may be no shortage of surprises. We continue to discover, after Silvia Zennaro and Ferrari-Calabrò, Elena Berta and Bianca Caruso of the women’s 470, now it’s time to move on to the sailboards and find out where Cagliari’s Marta Maggetti can go. Weekly the Sailing Newspaper will present to you all the crews that will chase the Olympic dream in Tokyo.

MARTA IN SENSINI’S FOOTSTEPS

Lei is the “Queen” of Sardinian women’s windsurfing and is representing Italy at the Tokyo Olympics, Enoshima for sailing, in the RS:X women’s class. Marta Magetti, a 25-year-old from Cagliari, is so talented that she is considered a potential heir to Alessandra Sensini. She arrived at the Tokyo Olympics as second in the rankings after winning the very tough internal selection against her friend and rival Giorgia Speciale. The thing that has impressed Marta during the four-year period has been the continuity of her technical growth and results, culminating in the last regattas done before Tokyo during which she has shown that she can remain stably in the top 5 and aim for the best. At the European in March 2021, she finished fourth just a whisker away from the podium; she arrives at the Games with no thoughts on her mind, with little pressure on her, and with the possibility of being able to actually have a good regatta. Can this be one of the Italian national team’s podium chances? The podium is difficult but dreaming is permissible, and if the weather conditions help her-she likes medium-light wind with waves that can show up in Enoshima-nothing is impossible.

Mauro Giuffrè

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