Young Sailing Star Irene Saderini Wins European Optimist Title

The future of Veronese sailing has the radiant face of Irene Saderini, a fifteen-year-old student who recently graduated as the European champion in the Optimist class, the tiny one-person boat on which almost all of the world’s yachting champions began their sailing careers. Irene, who lives near Castello, a hamlet of Brenzone—beautifully perched on the slopes of Mount Baldo—won the continental title in Riva on the very racecourse where she trains year-round, including in winter. “When did I realize I had won the European Championship? After crossing the finish line of the tenth and final race,” Irene explains. “I had to worry about the attacks from Marja Liisa Umb, who was in front of me at that point and could have overtaken me in the overall standings.” Irene achieved a true feat at the Europeans. On the eve of the continental event, the Lombard Giulia Conti from the Toscolano Maderno sailing club, the outgoing European champion, was the favorite; meanwhile, Saderini was considered an outsider like many of her peers in the fleet composed of 111 teams from 46 countries. Instead, Irene, race after race, with humility and determination, was able to build an outstanding performance. The finale was even overwhelming: first in the penultimate race and sixth in the race that sealed her victory. In the other six scoring races (the regulation allows for the discard of the two worst results), Irene recorded two third places, a sixth, an eighth, a twelfth, and a fourteenth. A performance that even surpassed that of Ravenna’s Matteo Sangiorgi, who won the European title in the male category at Riva, finishing behind the Brazilian Rafael Lorenzo; however, Sangiorgi was nine points behind Irene Saderini in the overall standings. Irene’s success has roots that go back a long way: “I started sailing at age six, participating in courses at the Yacht Club Acquafresca,” she recounts. “My passion for this sport grew quickly; I’ve been sailing for nine years now. Competing at an elite level requires significant sacrifices. My life revolves around school and sailing. Balancing academic commitments with sports isn’t easy, though. I attend the Scipione Maffei socio-pedagogical high school in Riva; for most of the school year, due to competition deadlines, I can only attend classes three days a week—Tuesday through Thursday—and so I often have to study at night.” In a few months, Irene will have to decide on her sporting future—whether to continue competing with a different boat class, as from next season she will no longer be able to race in the Optimist. “I haven’t decided yet whether I’ll switch to the 4.20 double or to the single Europa, but I think I’ll choose the second option.” Saderini is the latest “jewel” among a growing number of sailing champions born in Castelletto and Brenzone. Among these are Federica Salvà, Luca Devoti, and Nicola Celon, who will participate respectively with the 4.20, Finn, and Soling classes at the Sydney Olympics, in addition to Albino Fravezzi, a highly decorated skipper and the current coach of the national Olympic team.