He is only 13 years old, but he won the European Under-19 sailing boards. Medea Falcioni phenomenal!

Her again! Fresh off winning our Sailor of the Year, Young category, Medea Falcioni confirms herself as the “baby prodigy” of Italian sailing .

Medea Falcioni, baby prodigy of sailing boards

He has just won in Embrun, France, the Under-19 European Championship of the IQFOil Olympic class, the flying sailboards. There is one small detail, however. Medea is only 13 years old: she was born on October 1, 2010, and she dominated ahead of opponents far older than her.

The Ancona-born, a holder of the historic S.E.F. Stamura, is no stranger to such resounding feats: she took first place in the Under 15 and bronze in the Under 17 at the World Championships reserved for the youth and junior categories of the IQFoiL Olympic table in Cadiz. And she had already put her older opponents in line by also winning the European Championship, both in the Under 15 and Under 17.

Why Medea wins it all

But Medea is not only one of the baby prodigies of Italian sailboarding. “Besides being good in sports, she is also good in everyday life.” “She is a great kid both in sports and school and in everyday life.” “He is special in everything he does.” “Very strong Medea !!!! Good beautiful always helpful kind elegant.” “Truly a super special girl!!!” “An outstanding girl, I even coached her in the water personally. She has incredible mental strength.”

Watch the video interview with our editorial staff to understand Medea Falcioni’s determination and “mindset.”

These are just a few of the many comments we received in support of her nomination for Sailor of the Year a few months ago, and coming from those who know her well, they help to sketch her personality. Strong, humble, helpful. Like the great champions.

Fun fact: Medea’s passion for sailing comes from her grandfather, “the sailor in the family,” her parents tell us, who used to take her on his small sailing cabin cruiser as a child.

Medea Falcioni will comment with us on the America’s Cup

You will get to know Medea on the Sailing Newspaper’s “Trial of the Cup,” i.e., the live episodes on our socials (Facebook and Youtube) that we will organize every day at 6 p.m. from August 22 until mid-October on the occasion of the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona: the 13-year-old will be one of the regular guests of our format. Who better than she, accustomed to flying on the foils of her board, to comment on the AC75 races! Stay tuned!

Gold also for Tomasini

The European iQFOiL in France did not only crown Medea Falcioni. In fact, on the top step of the podium of the U19 men’s classification went another great young talent: we are talking about Leonardo Tomasini, from Trentino, bearer of Circolo Surf Torbole.

Leonardo was in the lead from the beginning of the Championship: he “threaded” 9 firsts, as well as winning the superfinal ahead of Switzerland’s Kobel and France’s Garandeau.

This continental victory is in addition to the youth world championship he won in 2023: he is the man-or rather, the boy, since he was born in 2006-to beat on sailboards. Present, and future, of Italian sailing.

In addition to these two magnificent golds, the Italian expedition to Embrun also took home a bronze medal. It is that of Pierluigi Caproni, third in the Under-17 category.

E.R.