Jana Germani and Giorgia Bertuzzi are two young athletes with similar sailing backgrounds and few years of experience in the 49er FX class. And they have a dream: to take part in the Paris Olympic Games 2024. We met them!
Your team is very young, but you have the same common goal: the pass for the Paris Olympics Games 2024. Please let us know something more about your dream!
Our journey began one year ago, even if we had really small time our ideas and goals were really clear. The Covid pandemics gave us an opportunity, because of it we gained time to train and be ready. We used the summer in the best way possible to train a lot, improve and be prepared for the few regattas of the calendar. At the Italian Championships in Follonica, then at Kieler Woche in Kiel and at the European Championship in Attersee we earned anzi g results, which was a demonstration of the amazing work done previously. We got 1st place at the Italian Championship, 1st place U23 in both the international events, and 6th overall in Kiel and 9th overall in Attersee. From that moment we knew that qualifying for Tokyo 2021 was a concrete dream. We never gave up, and we are still working hard for this goal, which is always coming closer and closer. We hope there will be an event to allow us to qualify, since the regatta in Palma which was valid for the qualification was post po ed due to covid. We also hope that they will be able to host the Games this year anyway, with or without us. We are young team, and we will for sure be at Paris 2024.
How is your typical training day?
Our typical training day consists in a good and nice breakfast in the morning. Then we go to the sailing club to do some small works on the boat, maintenance and improving systems. Once the boat is ready, we change and we go out for 2-3 hours of training. The time on the boat is for sure the most exciting part of the day. After that we go to the gym, which is important and helpful to make the boat work easier. Once we are home we analyze the day, we watch videos, we talk about our sensations and impressions. Another key moment of our routine is the rest, it is very important to charge our batteries to be always ready for training days.
The 49er FX is a fast and very technical boat: what are your strengths?
The 49er FX is super fast and technical boat. Our strengths are for sure the ability to adapt our sailing to all conditions, and the fast response that we have from each situation we face. It is always us controlling the boat and never viceversa, this is really important and it allows us to sail always at the best. Both of us are direct and aggressive type of person, and that reflects also on our sailing. In string situation we find ourself in the sweet spot, it is our favorite condition, but we are also sharping our skills in the light wind without loosing our aggressiveness when needed.
We have a dream: to take part in the Paris Olympic Games 2024.
How important are the sponsors in this Paris Olympic Games 2024 Campaign?
During the Olympic Campaign sponsors are really important. Good sponsorships permits you to make a bit more compared to the others which will be the new of success in the regattas. The technical sponsors help a lot with the equipment, and the economic sponsors help with the expenses, which in this class are really high. Luckily we have good sponsors, and we are always looking forward to find new ones. We have a manager who is taking care of them, and it is always searching people interested in supporting our project. If you are interested in us, or you want to know more check out our Instagram page: @janagiorgiasaling. If you want get in contact you will find all the info on Instagram.
We are thankful to Armare Ropes for all the ropes, Allen Sailing for the pulleys, Murphy’s for the sticks, Motomarine for all the materials to fix the boat, Oakley, and Speck Stube Malcesine and our Clubs for the support.
Last but not least, our classic question: what does it mean “sailing” for you?
Sailing for us is something normal, natural and easy, which is part of us since we were young. Sailing give us a type of freedom that a lot of people can’t even imagine, air and water are our elements, and we take care of them and the nature because we need them to keep enjoying our passion. Sailing is what we do, what makes us happy, and what we love. In other words sailing is life for us.