On the weekends, whenever she can, she escapes with her iQFoil, the windsurfer she flies and is an Olympian with. It leaves from the Poblenou nautical base. It’s been a little over a year since Andrea Emone settled in Barcelona with the entire Swiss team that will compete in the America’s Cup. This young Valencian was one of the first signings of Alinghi Red Bull Racing for the 2024 edition of the queen of regattas. his dream
Emone was ten years old when his city was the scene of the 32nd edition of the America’s Cup. That was providential. His family had no interest in the world of sailing, but one of his teachers at the French Lyceum had it all and was providential, “for me and for many other children; he taught us that everything had to do with sailing: mathematics, chemistry… and we sailed all winter focused on the Cup”, he explains. That made him see that he could enter this world from many doors: “I love being an athlete and sailing and also being behind the scenes, being able to have a hand in what is designed… and the numbers seem to me to be a much better picture detailed and better than what is actually happening”.
He has never stopped sailing, he competed at a high level in windsurfing (the RS:X) and was with the national sailing team. But the time came to choose between competition and university and he chose to study. When the race began, he left the Olympic table. “Then the foils started and I really liked it; I thought I had a future and as an engineer they also aroused my curiosity”, she explains. And when he had been sailing with the iQFoil for three years, this class of windsurfing became Olympic and in 2020, Andrea rejoined the competition at the highest level.
She was also the first Spanish woman to compete in Sail GP, “a wonderful circuit to enter this world”, she says. She was at it and working as a data analyst at different circuits when, in 2021, the Swiss team contacted her. “Whenever they asked me what I wanted to do, I always said to be in a Copa de America team.” Do not hesitate, for her this regatta is the F1 of the sea and instead of cars, the AC75s. “Not only do you have to compete among the best, you are also part of the design of your boat. There are no excuses here, the budgets are very high. It’s a race against time.”
He works in the Alinghi Red Bull Racing Performance team analyzing the data generated by the boat, “to see how it sails and how we can optimize processes to be faster”, he points out. His double aspect of technique and sportsman “allows me to simplify complex things”. It is one of its strong points. Pragmatism, another: “To win the America’s Cup, athletes must understand that many valuable hours are not spent on the boat; you need to understand, read, work… Winning is about accepting that you won’t win by being the best, you have to help and be part of the team that builds you the boat with which you will win… And not all athletes make it so far”. He recognizes that the Barcelona edition is very contested, “we will see some very radical AC75”.
