– 5 at the Olympics, here are who the Azzurri are fighting for a medal

Paris 2024: the Azzurri in the water at the Olympics

With the Last Chance Regatta in Hyères concluded this April, all the slots up for grabs have been awarded, defining who, and for which nation, will actually get to compete on the Olympic circuits.
Just in Hyères, Italy showed up with eight classes out of 10 already selected, namely iQfoil (male and female), Formula Kite (male and female), ILCA 7; ILCA 6; 49er FX and Nacra 17.
The big absentees, in terms of passes, were only plus 470 Mix and 49er, which recorded good numbers but bittersweet result.
The excellent performance by the two Italian 470 crews (1st and 2nd) in fact won one of the two missing passes, lost, however, as far as the men’s 49er is concerned, which we will not see, precisely, represented in Marseille. Of the 9 out of 10 classes won, then, here is who we will see in Azure at the end of July.

NACRA 17 | Mixed Doubles, Multihulls

Evergreen the Azzurra representation in the Nacra 17 class, the evergreen duo Tita / Banti.
Ruggero Tita was born in 1992 in Rovereto, Caterina Banti in 1987 in Rome.
Together since late 2016, 2020 Olympic champions, they have dominated in these two four-year terms the blue Nacra 71.
They now present themselves in Marseille as the super favorites of the prediction and as 2023 world champions (as well as 2022 and 2018…).
In short, in the right week they can be unbeatable, but watch out for the pitfalls of the Olympics.

470 | Mixed Doubles, Dinghy

Let’s start with the quintessential Olympic hull, the 470.
Mixed, starting with this edition of the 2024 Games.
Representing the Azzurri, after their excellent performance in Hyères, is the Berta / Festo duo.
Class of 1992, Elena Berta will be at the helm of the Azzurro 470 Mx crew, thus gaining her third Olympic participation, which began with Rio 2016.
First Olympics for Bruno Festo, on the other hand, class of 1999.
The duo, of no small ívelo, is considered a bit like the “wild-card” by the 470 fleet: they are determined, they do not lack skill and, above all, they have all the credentials to amaze and surprise.
They demonstrated this well at the Last Chance Regatta in Hyères, with striking trials; we shall now see in the waters of Marseilles.

49er FX | Women’s Doubles, Skiff

Already third at the 2024 FX Worlds, the Bertuzzi/Germani duo will represent Italy in 49er FX in Marseille. Class of 2001, Giorgia Bertuzzi was born in Rovereto, Jana Germani, on the other hand, in Trieste, in 1999.
At 23 and 25 years old they are, in short, already at the top of the 49er FX fleet,where they have won in the last two years a European bronze and silver, and world bronze.
They will go to the Olympics to try to impress and make people dream beyond the medal race.

ILCA 7 and ILCA 6 | Men’s Single and Women’s Single.

Double single medals for the ILCA Classes, men’s ILCA 7 and women’s ILCA 6, respectively.
Representing the Azzurri were Lorenzo Chiavarini and Chiara Benini.
Born in Rome in 1994, of Scottish mother, Chiavarini raced for a long time for Great Britain’s colors in the Laser before finally making his debut with Italy.
At the Olympics, he will surely go to hit the medal race.
Among the youngest at the Games, however, is Chiara Benini, class of 2002, from Rovereto.
Little to say, she is a laserist (ILCA) on the rise, always in the top 10 in the World Cup: an outsider to keep an eye on.

KITE FORMULA | Male Kite and Female Kite

New formula, new faces.
And it certainly applies to Blue Kite.
Very young, here, the representatives of Italy: Maggie Pescetto and Riccardo Pianosi.
The former, Maggie Pescetto, class of 2000, was actually already on the national kite team at age 17.
The big breakthrough, however, in 2019, with the jump to kite-foil, starting to collect placings.
Now, the Olympic dream in Women’s Kite.
Already ranking as the youngest in the class, however, is Riccardo Pianosi (2005), who, however, already shows how these numbers count for little, on the strength of a palmares among the best, including gold at the 2024 Europeans.
Marseille 2024 is his Olympic debut, but he is already among the big boys in kiting.

iQFOiL | Male Table and Female Table

New formula and new boards for Olympic windsurfing, which changes platforms but not necessarily faces.
To represent Italy, in fact, again Marta Maggetti, 28-year-old from Cagliari, already an Azzurra in Tokyo a few years ago.
Now she is at the Olympics of maturity, with more experience in her bag and talent to spare.
European and World Champion, on the other hand, the men’s iQFOiL Azzurro representative, Nicolò Renna, class of 2001 and in the midst of climbing the windsurfing world.
In short, he too comes to the Olympics with great ambitions and will be one of the men to beat.

If you want to learn more about the Olympic Classes, don’t miss this article: https://www.giornaledellavela.com/2024/07/18/olimpiadi-vela-2024/