Young Azzurra News

The athlete from the Young Azzurra programme placed third in the first leg of the World Cup series

Porto Cervo, 27 May 2024. The first leg of the WingFoil Racing World Championship in Turkey came to a close yesterday with Maddalena Spanu, an athlete from the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda's Young Azzurra programme, finishing in third place. Spain's Nia Suardiaz claimed the top spot, while Poland's Karolina Kluszczynska took second place.

Competition on the water in Urla, Turkey, was scheduled to start on 22 May and saw participants complete a qualifying phase in preparation for the semi-finals and Medal Race. Five very challenging days brought a windless first day, after which conditions stabilised and remained favourable, allowing the participants to complete all of the scheduled races. Consistent performances had left Maddalena in second place in the overall ranking up to the penultimate day. However, a disqualification on that afternoon dropped the Young Azzurra athlete back to fourth place. Maddalena nevertheless qualified for the Medal Race, where she crossed the finish line second to claim third place overall.

“I'm disappointed not to win, but I understand what I need to work on. The protest against me was difficult to handle, it cost me second place in the classification. Despite everything, this experience will be useful for the future. At the next event I’ll try to give it my all and avoid making the same mistakes.” Maddalena commented.

The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda congratulates Maddalena on her excellent result.

The next sporting engagement for the athlete from the Young Azzurra programme will be the Marathon World Championship scheduled from 5 to 9 June in Texel, Netherlands. Before that, however, Maddalena and her two teammates from the Young Azzurra programme, Cesare Barabino and Federico Pilloni, will take part in the YCCS Clean Beach Day organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda on 30 May at the Tre Monti beach in Baja Sardinia, starting at 9.30 am. For further information please visit the Young Azzurra website.

For interview requests with YCCS institutional figures or Young Azzurra athletes please contact the YCCS Press Office.