CREW

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  Marco Gradoni

  Helm

  

  Marco Gradoni

  Helm

  Winning skipper of the Youth America’s Cup, Marco is the only sailor in history to win the Optimist World Championships three times in a row. As a result, he earned the title of World Sailor of the Year in 2019. Focussed on the America’s Cup, Marco is seen as one of the rising stars of the future and is expected to perform well in Sardinia with an eye on getting a coveted helm position on the team’s AC75 for Naples. A scientific high school graduate, Marco made his debut on the Optimist at the age of 10, winning the World Championship in 2017, 2018, 2019; this extraordinary result earned him the World Sailor of The Year Award, which he received in 2019 at the age of 15 (the youngest winner ever). After a brief stint on 29ers, in 2021 he shifted to the helm of the Olympic Class 470 Mixed - paired with Alessandra Dubbini -, in which he confirmed his outstanding skills, winning the World Championship and the Junior European Championship. A lover of tactical sailing and the sea in 360°, which he loves all year round, he has always cultivated the dream of the America's Cup, which came true when he joined the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team in 2022.  Skipper of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Youth team and co-helmsman of the AC40, he skippered the Youth America's Cup, an event reserved for under-25s. His hobbies are surfing and wing-foiling. If he were not a professional sailor, he would be a long-distance captain or a naval officer, but he has never really wanted to do anything else.

  
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  Margherita Porro

  

  Margherita Porro

  Born in Brescia and with a degree in Sport Sciences, Margherita is a “Fiamme Gialle” athlete who began sailing on Lake Iseo at the age of 5. As a youth she won the world title in the O'pen Bic, Rs Tera and Rs Feva Classes. Very soon she started sailing in the 29er class, winning the World and European titles with bowwoman Sofia Leoni. In 2017 she began sailing on foiling boats, including the innovative Waszp, and then switched to the mixed catamaran Nacra 17 as helmswoman. In this Class (paired with Stefano Dezulian) in 2022 she won the Italian Championship and second place at the U24 Worlds. In 2024 she joins the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team and wins the Puig Women's America's Cup in Barcelona as co-helmsman of the AC40. If she were not a sailor, Margherita would cultivate her passion for the mountains, devoting herself in particular to mountain rescue.

  
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  Maria Giubilei

  

  Maria Giubilei

  With a degree in Philosophy, Maria started sailing at the age of on Optimists and since then, while still cultivating other interests (she attended the conservatory and plays the guitar), she has never stopped racing. In 2017, following her classical high school diploma, she embarked on the Olympic path in the Nacra 17 class where she achieved several successes paired with Gianluigi Ugolini: two-time World Vice-Champion (2021 and 2022), three-time U24 World Champion (2018, 2019 and 2021), 2 bronze medals at the European Championships (2022 and 2023) and Gold at the Paris 2024 Test Event. Maria has a strong passion for philosophy and knowledge in general, loves nature and animals, and, if she were not a sailor, would fight for their rights full-time. In 2024 she joined the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli women's team and in the role of trimmer of the AC40 she won the Puig Women's America's Cup in Barcelona.

  
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  Giovanni Santi

  Trim

  

  Giovanni Santi

  Trim

   Another name confirmed just before the Sardinia Prelim Regatta was that of Giovanni Santi, a very rapid sailor who has come through fast on the 29er and 49er circuit at Youth level and is now performing in the AC40 class. One to watch.

  
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  Maria Vittoria Marchesini

  

  Maria Vittoria Marchesini

  Born in Trieste, Maria Vittoria started sailing at age of seven in the Optimist class (following her grandfather's advice) and at age 14 she won a bronze medal at the Women's Worlds. She then became helmswoman in 420, a class in which she won a bronze medal at the 2016 Women's Worlds. She then followed the Olympic 470 class where, in 2019, she won the World Junior Mixed gold and the European Junior Mixed bronze medal. In 2022 Maria Vittoria switched to 49erFX as bowwoman. In the same year she began her adventure with wingfoils, which she became so passionate about that she participated in multiple stages of the world championship in 2023. Also in 2023, at the helm of the 69F, she won third place in the Woman Foiling Gold Cup. She is enrolled in Economics and Management at the University and in her spare time enjoys hiking and skiing in the mountains, although her life passion is the world of sailing. In 2024 she joins Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and that same year she is part of the sailing team that won the Puig Women's America's Cup.

  
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  Massimiliano Antoniazzi

  Trim

  

  Massimiliano Antoniazzi

  Trim

  Confirmed in the team for Sardinia, the young and highly talented Massimiliano ‘Max’ Antoniazzi, featured in almost all of the training sessions leading up to the Preliminary Regatta. Max has risen fast through the ILCA world, winning a silver medal at the Youth Europeans and competing in the Melges 24 and Switch foiling dinghy classes.