Italian rower Federica Cesarini carried the Olympic flame across Lake Maggiore on Wednesday, on its route to the Milan 2026 Opening Ceremony on 5 February. Cesarini was born in nearby Cittiglio, and in her career as a lightweight rower she reached the highest levels of the sport. She won the gold medal in the women’s lightweight double at Tokyo 2020, a world championship in the women’s lightweight quad at Sarasota 2017, and European championships in the single (2019) and double (2021).
However, after missing out on qualification for Paris 2024, the last time lightweight rowing would feature at the Olympics, Cesarini made the switch to beach sprint. She represented Italy in the CW1x at the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals in 2024, and in the CMix2x last year. She has been training in beach sprint on Lake Maggiore and told Milano Today that is has given her the chance to reinvent herself ahead of LA28.