And who else but them? Italy’s America’s Cup winners honored at Garmin Beat Yesterday Awards

There was a lot of sailing at the ninth annual Garmin Beat Yesterday Awards, the awards that the electronics giant, the world leader in sports and outdoor technology, gives out each year to the extraordinary feats of ordinary people whose stories inspire them to always move the bar higher in their own performance-whether it be in sports or in life.

Why Luna Rossa’s female sailors won the Garmin Beat Yesterday Awards.

Among the companies honored at Garmin’s new headquarters in Via del Ghisallo, Milan (Garmin Italia CEO Stefano Viganò and Federica Picchi, Undersecretary for Sport and Youth of the Region of Lombardy, did the honors) was Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli’s women’s team that won the Puig Women’s America’s Cup in Barcelona aboard the AC40 flying monohulls. It was a victory that highlighted the group’s technical and tactical excellence. Thanks to meticulous preparation and a highly qualified crew, the team dominated in the final stages, finishing with a historic result for women’s sailing. The team’s strategy was based on quick starts, precise speed management, and excellent communication among crew members, which are essential in such fast and technically complex races.

Tita-Banti awards Marchesini-Micol

Representing the blue team are Maria Vittoria Marchesini and Giovanna Micol . The former, 27 years old from Trieste, attends the Faculty of Economics and Management and in her spare time enjoys hiking in the mountains and skiing. Initially a helmswoman on the 420s and 470s, she switched to the 49er in 2022 and took on the role of bowwoman, until the big leap – and great success in the America’s Cup. Giovanna Micol, 42 and also from Trieste, an architect, was between 2005 and 2012 at the top of the World Ranking List in the women’s 470 double and then placed 5th twice at the Olympics (Beijing 2008 and London 2012). She participated on the Nacra 17, together with Lorenzo Bressani, in the Olympic campaign for Rio. She is married to Trieste sailor Michele Paoletti and mother to Olivia and Mattia.

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“When we were little, we used to spend our nights watching regattas on television, cheering Luna Rossa-a dream that seemed unattainable,” they told Guido Meda on stage.

To the well-known journalist (and sailing enthusiast) the task in fact to present their story and to call on the stage to award them another incredible duo of Italian sailing. That of Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti, fresh winners of their second consecutive Olympic gold medal (Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024) on the Nacra 17 catamarans. No Italian athlete has succeeded in the goal of winning two five-star golds.

Recall that Luna Rossa’s women’s team consisted of, in addition to Marchesini and Micol, Giulia Conti, Margherita Porro, Maria Giubilei, Giulia Fava, and Alice Linussi

The other “inspirational” stories honored at the Garmin Beat Yesterday Awards

Here are the other four stories honored at the Garmin Beat Yesterday Awards. There is that of motorcyclist Francesca Gasperi (who traveled 12 states and thousands of kilometers on two wheels, from Imperia to Madagascar) and that of Roberto Ragazzi, a freelancer and explorer who spent 14 days in Iceland, 12 of which were in “whiteout,” a weather condition in which you are surrounded by nothing but snow, with no landmarks, amid extreme snowfall and raging winds. One hundred and sixty kilometers on foot to go and see for yourself the effects of climate change. Claudio Pelizzeni , on the other hand, tired of a job as a bank employee, changed his life by devoting himself to traveling around the world, alone, without ever using a plane. And all this even though he has suffered from diabetes since the age of nine. Finally, Diego Pettorossi, data analyst and the only non-professional athlete to have participated in the Paris 2024 Olympics by running the 200 meters.