ABOUT FRANCESCA

Italian by birth and now a U.S. citizen based in Utah, Francesca Clapcich is one of the most versatile athletes in modern sailing. Her career spans Olympic competition, offshore racing, and elite sport performance, with success across multiple disciplines at the highest level.

A two-time Olympian, World and European Champion, and Italian Sailor of the Year, Francesca made history in 2023 as the first Italian to win The Ocean Race, claiming victory with 11th Hour Racing Team in the toughest team event in professional sailing. She has now sailed twice around the world in The Ocean Race and was the first Italian woman to compete in the Solitaire du Figaro, earning the Fighting Spirit Award. In 2025 Francesca finished an historic second place in the Transat Café L’OR with co-skipper Will Harris becoming the first American woman ever to compete in the Transat Café L’OR, delivering the best IMOCA Class result for a woman in 20 years, and also the best result for an international pairing in the French-dominated IMOCA Class since 2011.

Introduced to sailing at age 11 in Trieste, Francesca progressed through the Italian Sailing Federation’s Olympic program, earned a degree in Sports Science, and spent nine years in the Italian Air Force’s elite athlete program. She represented Italy at the London 2012 Olympic Games and Rio 2016 Olympic Games, finishing fifth in the 49erFX class in Rio.

Her next challenge is her most ambitious yet: the Vendée Globe in 2028, racing solo, non-stop, around the planet.