Blue Olympic sailing to shine: poker medals at Semaine Olympique Française

Italian Olympic sailing to go wild at the very windy 56th Semaine Olympique Française in Hyères, one of the most important stages of the World Cup circuit reserved for Olympic classes. The Italian national team returns home with a haul of four medals, two golds, one silver and one bronze, confirming the great state of form of our movement and an excellent start to the Olympic quadrennium.

Italian sailing, the medals from Hyères

The gold medals were won by Riccardo Pianosi in the Formula Kite category and Chiara Benini Floriani in the Ilca 6. Gianluigi Ugolini and Maria Giubilei, on the other hand, won silver, their second after the Princesa Sofia Trophy in Palma, among the Nacra 17. Then comes a ringing from the 470 mixed, where Giacomo Ferrari and Alessandra Dubbini come in at bronze, in a class that has historically given Italy so much but has been stingy with results for ours in recent years. Italy also hit the top 10 in the ILCA 7s, with Dimitri Peroni fifth and Attilio Borio sixth, and in the 49er FX with the Germani-Caruso pair who finished sixth by winning the meda race and confirming themselves as a crew that can go for the podium throughout the season.

Italian Olympic sailing is approaching the new four-year period, which will take it to Los Angeles 2028, with great confidence. After the two gold medals won in Paris, in the Nacra 17 with Tita-Banti, and in the women’s iQfoil with Marta Maggetti, the competitiveness of our movement seems to be growing further and there are now four years to be able to develop its full potential, with a good mix of young talents and other more experienced ones that make the Italian Olympic classes competitive in different classes, as we are already seeing from these first regattas of 2025.

Olympic sailing, the protagonists speak

Benini Floriani: “I am very happy today, the regatta went as I hoped. It was a challenging week, with very tough conditions both physically and strategically. Now, this result is a good sign ahead of the world championship to be held in May in China.”

Ugolini-Giubilei: “We ended the regatta well, winning the Medal Race. Unfortunately, an underwhelming day during the week put us in trouble for winning the regatta we were dominating. Nevertheless, we are still happy with the performance because we know we are very fast and competitive. We need to fix the last details that will allow us, perhaps, to win. We are aware of how important it is to maintain focus and constantly improve to meet future challenges.”

Giacomo Ferrari: “It was a tough regatta, full of episodes that didn’t faze us and that we managed with determination. I want to thank Alessandra (Dubbini) and Gabrio (Zandonà, FIV technician), because together we managed the week very well and ended it great, dominating the Medal Race. Every regatta is a lesson, and this one allowed us to understand our potential even better. We know that we are just at the beginning, and all three of us are convinced that we can achieve even more in the next competitions.”