Giorgio Poggi

Biography Poggi started sailing at the age of twelve and then first competed as an Optimist and Laser specialist. In 2006, he gained weight and decided to move to the heavier Finn class. Throughout his pre-Olympic career, Poggi had produced a total of six gold medals in different sailing classes at the Italian national championships (from 2002 to 2008). While competing in the sport, Poggi worked as a member of the police force and sailing fleet for Gruppi Sportivi Fiamme Gialle, under the tutelage of his well-accomplished coaches: 2004 Olympian Michele Marchesini and three-time Olympic champion Valentin Mankin of the former Soviet Union.

Leading up to his Olympic debut, Poggi managed to get 169 points to place nineteenth and assure one of the six available Olympic berths at the ISAF Finn Gold Cup in Melbourne, Australia. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Poggi sailed a marvelous stretch to record a net grade of 74 after eight races in the Finn class, but missed out a chance to compete for the Olympic medal by just eight notches behind Spain's Rafael Trujillo, finishing in eleventh overall.