![](https://www.lunarossachallenge.com/original/m6973_Gradoni-Marco_Web.jpg)
A scientific high school graduate, Marco made his debut on the Optimist at the age of 10, winning - first sailor in history - the Class World Championship three times in a row (2017, 2018, 2019); this extraordinary result earned him the Rolex World Sailor of The Year Award, which he received in 2019 at the age of 15 (the youngest winner ever). After a brief stint on 29ers, in 2021 he shifted to the helm of the Olympic Class 470 Mixed - paired with Alessandra Dubbini -, on which he confirmed his outstanding skills, winning the World Championship and the Junior European Championship. A lover of "tactical" sailing and of the sea at 360°, which he loves all year round, he has always cultivated the dream of the America's Cup, which came true when he joined the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team in 2022. The 2024 America's Cup in Barcelona will be his first. His hobbies are surfing and wing-foiling. If he were not a professional sailor, he would be a long-distance captain or a naval officer, but he has never really wanted to do anything else.