Why sailing is a family business for Nicolo Renna

Born into the sport, Renna’s father, Vasco, is an icon in his home of Lake Garda, running one of the most famous sailing schools in the world together with his wife Gabriella, their two eldest sons and their daughter.

Seemingly destined for sailing stardom, Renna honed his craft on the water from a young age under the tutelage of his father and is now preparing to compete at the pinnacle as he battles for Olympic gold in Marseille.

From Lake Garda to the French Riviera, it has been a triumphant journey for the 23-year-old who will be confident in his ability to top the podium this summer.

 

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Family tradition

Renna did not have to go too out of his way to discover the joys of water sports. Growing up on the doorstep of his father’s renowned sailing school, the Italian was mesmerised by windsurfers when watching on from the shoreline.

He could not wait to get out on the water himself and has not looked back since immersing himself in the sport.

“I started when I was seven years old here in Lake Garda, because my dad had a windsurfing school, one of the biggest in the world for like 45 years,” Renna said.

“I was watching everyone going out, playing. I was coming after school and I was watching saying, ‘I have to do also’. Then I started and I fell in love immediately with the sport, which has stayed until now.

“I feel lucky. I was always here, I have always had the opportunity to go out and have fun, to train. So, for sure it’s much easier because also my family is in the business of windsurfing, it’s an advantage.”

 

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Fatherly guidance

As Renna broke into the sport as a young child, he immediately made the most of his father, who helped guide him towards success.

It was a privilege that many budding sailors would have killed for, with Vasco Renna heading up a sailing school in the heart of the sport’s holy place of Lake Garda.

“He was competing in the beginning when windsurfing started, and then he started the business,” Renna added.

“He had passion, he was going out windsurfing and then he started to say, ‘maybe I can do a school’.

“In 1984, everyone was coming to Lake Garda for windsurfing – it was like the Mecca of windsurfing. Everyone was coming here, so it was really full.

“He supported me in the beginning when I didn’t have any sponsor, no federation supported me with money for sure. It was important, he supported me for sure and I like to continue with the company of my dad.”

 

Sailing for a living

After involving himself in competitive sailing at the age of 10, Renna quickly began to thrive on the youth stage and won the RS:X Youth World Championships in 2018.

 

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It soon became clear that Renna was able to sail for a living, allowing him to turn full focus to achieving his potential.

“I was quite good in the youth and while then it was not the priority, it was close to the priority,” he said.

“Then I started to do with iQFOiL which was a new generation class, new generation people. I started to be good and I thought that maybe I can do this for work in the future.

“It’s super nice because you can just focus on that. You can just train every day, morning, afternoon. You can just focus on that and it’s easier than working and training. You want to keep the level up.”

 

Senior success

After graduating to senior level, it did not take long for Renna’s junior success to translate across to the bigger stages.

At the age of 23, he has already won a lot of what there is to win, claiming gold at the 2023 European Championships before topping the Worlds podium in March this year.

 

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While providing him with heaps of confidence ahead of his Olympic debut this summer, Renna is not resting on his laurels, fully aware of how quickly things can shift in sailing.

“I’m confident but there’s for sure some pressure,” he said.

“Every race has its own story because sailing is not like running or like that kind of stuff. It’s always different.

“There are five, six guys that can win the medal, so it’s really close between each other. I know also the other guys are super good.

“I think we look at each other but no one think that they are the best because we are like really close.”

 

Fulfilling a family dream

Regardless of what happens in Marseille, Renna will nevertheless live out a lifelong aspiration by competing at Paris 2024 – not just of his own, but of his father as well.

“It was for sure something that I was looking forward for and when I managed to go to Paris I was super, super happy,” he said. “If I was to take a medal, that would be the best thing.

“My father was competing and he also tried to go to the Olympics, the first time windsurfing was at the Olympics was 1984, but he didn’t manage to do it.

“Now to see me going to the Olympics, it’s a dream that he wanted but I managed to do it. He’s happy and proud, for sure.”