Andrea Demurtas has received his fourth World Championship call-up: he will be with the Italian national team at the 2026 Optimist World Championships.
Riva del Garda – With the Second National Optimist Selection, organized over the weekend by the Yacht Club Gaeta and consisting of seven races (nine of which were held in Trapani during the First Selection), National Optimist Coach Marcello Meringolo announced the teams that will represent Italy at the World Championships in Tangier, Morocco (June 18-28) and the European Championships in Gdynia, Poland (July 24-31).
Among those called up for the World Championships is Andrea Demurtas, who achieved the feat of qualifying for the fourth consecutive time.
In addition to Andrea, the Italian team will include Matteo Mazzola (FV Peschiera), Nicola di Pilla (CV Bari), 2025 European runner-up, Luca Bonizzoni (SC Garda Salò), and Carol Veneri (CV Bari).
“I am very happy and proud to have qualified for my fourth Optimist World Championship after the two selections held in Trapani and Gaeta. It was a challenging journey, with very competitive races and varying conditions, but I managed to give my all in every race. I thank my family, my coach Marco Giangrande, Fraglia Vela Riva, and all the people who support me every day on this sporting journey. This fourth World Championship qualification represents an important milestone for me and a source of great satisfaction. I will continue to work with commitment and determination to prepare myself as best I can and represent Italy with pride,” said a satisfied Andrea Demurtas.
“This year’s selections were very complex, the most difficult in recent years. This makes Andrea’s qualification even more significant. Before him, in Italy, only Marco Gradoni had participated in four Optimist World Championships, and I think that’s quite significant. I’m very satisfied with the level of concentration we achieved: proof of this is the penultimate race, decisive one, held in very light winds, when a single mistake could have ruined everything,” said Marco Giangrande, coach of the Fraglia Vela Riva Optimist Racing Team.
“Very few have managed the feat of participating in four Optimist World Championships: this result underscores Andrea’s tenacity, to whom we owe our deepest kudos. Full speed ahead for his final Optimist World Championship in Morocco,” said Mauro Berteotti, Technical Director of Fraglia Vela Riva.
“Fraglia Vela Riva bases much of its activity on the youth sailing movement, and sporting achievements like the one achieved by Andrea Demurtas, determined to earn a fourth World Championship spot in a competitive class like the Optimist, represent one of the driving forces that bring young people to our club and the world of sailing. In thanking him on behalf of myself and the members, I wish him the best of luck in the run-up to the World Championships. Ad maiora semper!” commented Fraglia Vela Riva President Chiara Carloni.
