Italy was represented at the first stage of this year’s Filippi Trophy International Circuit by various rowers from various different clubs, but not by the national team itself. That looks set to change in the second stage in Fano this weekend. The Italian team has been training in the town on the Adriatic coast since Sunday as it prepares to race against rowers representing 18 different countries.
Federico Ceccarino, Lucio Fugazzotto and Gabriele Lonconsole will compete in the men’s solos, and Federica Cesarini, Ilaria Bavazzano and Maria Elena Zerboni in the women’s. In the mixed doubles the pairings will be Cesarini with Ceccarino, Bavazzano with Loconsole and Zerboni with Fugazzotto.
On flat water, Cesarini won a gold medal in the lightweight women’s double at Tokyo 2020 and Zerboni won the women’s lightweight pair at the 2022 World Rowing Championships. On the beach, Fugazzotto won the under-19 men’s solo in 2023 plus bronze medals the last two years. Both Ceccarino and Zerboni are also silver medalists at beach sprint worlds.