WHO IS DIEGO BOTIN - THE NEW CO-HELM FOR LA ROCHE-POSAY?
Diego Botín, was born on Christmas Day 1993 in Santander, Spain, a sailing city renowned for developing high performance sailors across a wide number of classes. Diego grew up in the Botín sailing family, which has produced elite sailors across multiple generations with his father Gonzalo Botín Naveda, a noted amateur sailor, and his uncle, Marcelino being one of the world’s top yacht designers.
At the age of 7, Diego joined the Specialised Centre of High Performance (CEAR), where he discovered his passion for sailing and its competitive nature. During his teenage years, between 2008 and 2012, he began competing at national and international level for Spain, which helped shape his technical skill and competitive mindset ahead of Olympic-level racing.
A switch to the Olympic 49er Class saw Diego represent Spain alongside lago López first at the 2016 Games in Beijing, where the duo finished ninth, and then again at the Covid-affected Tokyo Games of 2020, where they missed a medal by a small margin in fourth. The appetite was there for Olympic success and for the 2024 Paris Games, Diego teamed up with now fellow La Roche-Posay trimmer, Florian Trittel, and the rest as they say is ‘history.’
Winning the gold medal was a dream come true with the duo unstoppable, winning by some 12 points over silver medalists Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie from New Zealand. One title though eluded Diego, the World Championships, where having finished second in both 2020 and 2022, it was unfinished business. Shortly after the Paris Olympics, Diego and Florian travelled to Cagliari and achieved their destiny, winning the 2025 title.
Furthermore, Diego led the Spanish team at SailGP to a stunning season victory in 2024 and joins La Roche-Posay as one of the most in-demand sailors in the world today. Speaking in Lorient at the launch of the new-look team, Diego commented: "It became a goal and now a reality. While we grew up in the sport, we saw that we have the abilities to be in an America's Cup team. I believe we can help the team with our experiences in other competitions."
Diego and Florian will slot into the team skippered by Quentin Delapierre alongside other notable sailors including Jason Saunders, Leigh McMillan, Amélie Grassi, Enzo Balanger, Timothé Lapauw, and Bruno Mourniac.
With the sister-ship AC75 to the Cup-winning boat ‘Taihoro’ of Emirates Team New Zealand now undergoing re-building to the new Technical Regulations, it’s an exciting time for French sailing.
Diego Botín is one to watch and could well be adding the America’s Cup to his already impressive sailing CV in Naples in 2027.