Elia Colombo
I was born in Lugano and grew up in Bironico, a small hamlet in the municipality of Monteceneri. At the age of six, I became acquainted with the exciting world of sailing at the Circolo Velico Lago di Lugano. As a child, I played many sports at a competitive level, including downhill skiing, ice hockey, cycling, sailing and windsurfing.
As a member of the Circolo Velico Lago di Lugano sailing club, I started racing on Optimist boats, then Laser and 420. At the age of 15, I decided to leave sailing disciplines to focus solely on windsurfing. The incredible sensations this sport conveys have led me to spend more and more days on the water every year. This passion was soon followed by excellent results at national and international level. In fact, there are numerous Swiss overall champion titles as well as podiums at international regattas in youth categories.
In the following years I competed on the professional circuit in the disciplines of Formula Windsurfing and Slalom. My most excellent results came in Formula Windsurfing with a 3rd place at the World Championships in 2022 and 5th and 8th places in 2018 and 2019. As a result of my excellent results, I was selected at the end of 2020 as one of three Swiss athletes (encompassing the entire sailing scene) for the Best Swiss Sailor award for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. 2023 was a year of great satisfaction. In June I won the title of Windsurfing Foil 2023 World Champion in Torbole, in the beautiful setting of Lake Garda.
In July I was selected as a representative for Switzerland to participate in the Marseille IQ Foil Test Event, an event organised as a dress rehearsal for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Here, after finishing 10th overall, I was given the green light to take part in the World Championships in the Netherlands where the 12 passes available for the Paris 2024 Olympics were up for grabs.
In August, with my 21st place in the World Championships in Holland, I secured the 11th of the 12 available Olympic places. Thanks to this result, I was able to guarantee Switzerland's presence at the Paris 2024 Olympics in the new discipline of IQ FOIL.
The Paris 2024 Olympics were the high point of my season. Strong emotions, pure adrenalin, the allure of the Olympic village and the pressure of great challenges. The capricious wind in Marseille put us to the test, between long moments of waiting on land and unpredictable situations in the water. Despite everything, I managed to push through to the quarter-finals, finishing in 7th place overall and taking home the prestigious Olympic Diploma. An unforgettable experience that I dream of reliving, improving again, in Los Angeles 2028.
The year 2025 will be a crucial year: an approach full of decisive stages. It will start with the World Cup stages in Palma de Mallorca, Hyères and Silvaplana, leading up to the highlight: the World Championships in July in Aarhus, Denmark. Grand finale with the Swiss Championships again in Silvaplana and the European Championships in Palermo.
The wind is already blowing towards the future.
Many challenges, one goal: Los Angeles 2028. |
|
