Cagliari Until two days ago she trained at Poetto, in the stretch of sea in front of the Windsurfing Club, the club that saw her grow and where as a child she began to hold the boom of the youth sailboard, thus starting her great adventure in the world of windsurfing.
Marta Maggetti28 years old on January 10th, member of the Fiamme Gialle, will represent Italy at the Paris Olympics in the women’s windsurfing class IqFoil.
The splendid victory at the Iqfoil world championship held a year and a half ago in Brestin Brittany, where the athlete from Cagliari once again demonstrated her great determination and talent, rewriting the history of windsurfing for Italy, after the exploits of the multiple Olympic medalist Alessandra Sensini.
«Winning the gold medal in Brest it was beautiful but it was equally nice to receive the call-up for the Olympics, a great joy and satisfaction, not only mine, but shared with all those who believed in me.”
A month and a half before the five-ring Games, Marta Maggetti is very focused and is completing her second Olympic campaign with the national team, after that of Tokyowhere he concluded the Olympics at the foot of the podium.
He has just returned from a very intense season which began in January at the IqFoil world championship in Lanzarote, where she placed ninth and landed in the Medal race. She remained on the island of the Canary archipelago until March to continue her preparation, which then continued in Palma de Mallorca, which ended with her participation in the trophy Princess Sofia (international regatta reserved for the ten Olympic classes), where the Italian finished the fleet regattas in fourth place, the position with which the Medal race should have started, the final which classifies the top ten which could not be held due to total absence of wind. But now his mind is all on Paris.
What are the expectations for Paris, or rather for Marseille, given that the regattas will be held in the southern French city, home of sailing sports?
« My goal is the podium, a medal, no matter the color, even if the golden one would be the best. But it won’t be easy, with the new format you have to be very concentrated, especially on the last day, because everything is reset after the fleet races. The first place goes directly to the final, the second and third to the semi-final, while the other competitors, who place from fourth to tenth, make it to the quarter-finals, where obviously the fleet starts to get bigger.”
Which opponent do you fear the most?
«I know them all very well, the one I fear most in Marseille is the British Emma Wilson, third in Tokyo, very strong, the only one of the top ten who is very constant, certainly of a higher level than her competitors. With the others, however, we play on equal terms.”
Do you already know the regatta course where the Olympic trials will take place?
«Yes, since last year I have also trained in Marseille, where we went back and forth with Italy for months. The conditions are very different depending on the disturbances, we expect that in July it will be better, and that there will above all be the average wind, the one I prefer and which corresponds to my characteristics. We will leave for Marseille on June 27th and begin training while my debut at the Games is scheduled for July 28th, two days after the inauguration ceremony, which unfortunately I will not be able to participate in: the Paris ceremony is too close compared to the first regattas.”
Training towards the Olympics also continues on land?
«Certainly, I have never abandoned work in the gym, also considering my slim build. I’m not tall and my ideal weight is 64 kilos, still a light weight even though I’ve bulked up a lot in the last two years. But that’s okay, the Olympics are just a few months away and it’s useless to try to change your preparation in the gym because I could suffer in the water. It’s not easy to maintain this weight, I have to eat a lot of everything, including pizza, the only indulgence I can allow myself.”
What does Marta Maggetti do when she’s not in the water?
«I have little free time but my main passion is photography, so I drive around Sardinia to try to capture images of breathtaking landscapes and panoramas. Not only on the beaches of the coast but also within the island.” After a week of training in the Gulf of Angels, in a few days Marta Maggetti will return to Torbole, on the Trentino side of Lake Garda, where she will complete her preparation with the national team, before reaching Marseille. For her now “les jeux sont faits”. Good luck Marta.
