Having just won the World Championship, the first Italian ever, and with an Olympics on his mind, Riccardo Pianosi, now a native of Quartu, was received today at the official headquarters of the former Convent by Mayor Graziano Milia, who personally congratulated the kite foil athlete on his recent success in the waters overlooking Poetto.
Riccardo Pianosi is the new Formula Kite world champion. He took the crown by winning the ninth edition of the Sardinia Grand Slam, which counts as the 2025 world championship for the discipline that made its Olympic debut last year in Paris. His victory in the Grand Finals, held on Sunday, October 5th in Poetto Beach in Quartu Sant'Elena with mistral winds between 14 and 20 knots, earned the surfer the world title, his first and Italy's first in Formula Kite.
Born in Pesaro, but Sardinian—or rather, Quartu—by adoption, Pianosi has been living in Quartu for almost three years. " I really chose to live here; unfortunately, I never have much time to stay, but it's always nice when I can, " explains the world champion athlete, who has taken the first important step toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
And precisely this goal requires long and focused preparation, which the Italian national team could plan in the Quartu area and in the surrounding waters, given the excellent results achieved during the World Championships that concluded just 10 days ago. This very concrete possibility was also discussed during the meeting between the athlete from the Italian Navy Sports Group and the mayor, which was also attended by IKA chairman Mirco Babini, president of the Sardinia Grand Slam organizing committee Gian Domenico Nieddu, and the city councilor for sport Cinzia Carta.
On this occasion, the mayor presented Pianosi with the green-framed Quattro Mori pin, which incorporates the colors of the city of Quartu—green and white on the background—uniting them with the Sardinian flag. A gift that is both a good luck charm and a "certification" of the athlete's new Quartu status.
" It's always a pleasure to meet young people who dedicate themselves to sports with such dedication, " says Mayor Graziano Milia. "Riccardo is proof that these sacrifices can bring great satisfaction. This joy is then reflected in those who work with him, in those close to him, in the entire community he comes from. And in this case, the satisfaction is also ours, because the first World Championship in the specialty was won by a young man who voluntarily chose our city as a place to live . I congratulate him, hoping he can repeat this success in the coming years, perhaps even at the next Olympics ."
