Pietro Sibello

Pietro Sibello
Personal information
Full namePietro Sibello
Nationality Italy
Born (1979-06-28) 28 June 1979 (age 45)
Albenga, Savona, Italy
Height1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in)
Weight70 kg (154 lb)
Sailing career
ClassSkiff
ClubGruppi Sportivi Fiamme Gialle
CoachLuca Depedrini
Medal record
Men's sailing
Representing Italy
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Moscow 49er
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Riva del Garda 49er
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Port Lucaya 49er
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2009 Zadar 49er
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Marsala 49er

Pietro Sibello (born 28 June 1979) is an Italian sailor, who specialized in the skiff (49er) class.[1] Together with his elder brother and eventual three-time Olympian Gianfranco, he was named one of the country's top sailors in the skiff boat for two Summer Olympic editions (2004 and 2008) and came close to the medal haul in Beijing (finishing in fourth place).[2] Outside the Games, the Sibello brothers collected a career total of five medals in a major international sailing regatta, including three bronzes from the 49er Worlds and a single Europeans title received in 2009.[3][4] A member of Fiamme Gialle Sports Group (Italian: Gruppi Sportivi Fiamme Gialle, Pietro trained most of his competitive sailing career under the tutelage of head coach Luca Depedrini.[5]

Sibello made his Olympic debut in Athens 2004, sailing with crew member Gianfranco in the 49er class. There, the Sibello brothers recovered from a haphazard start to sail through the fleet and win the second race. A fusion of scores varying from a couple of fourths to a lowly seventeenth under shifty conditions, however, pushed the Italians to the middle of the fleet and never looked back, sitting them in fourteenth overall with a net grade of 138.[6]

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Sibello competed for the second straight time with Gianfranco in the 49er class.[7] The Italian pair finished fourth in the golden fleet to lock one of the thirteen quota places available at the 2007 ISAF Worlds in Cascais, Portugal.[8][9] Entered the regatta as the world's no. 2 crew, the Sibello brothers enjoyed the race series comfortably with two straight victories in the third and fourth leg and a random wave of top-five marks along the way to cement their place for the medal round.[10][11] Lying in the runner-up position, they battled against the Aussies to the front under gusty conditions, until their boat capsized at the final upwind mark let the Spanish, German, and British crews overtake them. The Italians crossed the finish line in fourth and narrowly missed the podium by a slim 5-point margin, amassing 66 net points.[2][12][13]

Sibello sought to bid for his third consecutive trip to the Games in London 2012 with Gianfranco after receiving a quota place at the 49er Worlds in Zadar, Croatia; however, the committee's sports medical commission ruled him ineligible to compete for the Italian sailing team, citing health problems.[14][15]

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Pietro Sibello". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b Palmer, Justin (18 August 2008). "Danes face overnight wait for gold ruling". Reuters. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Sibello Brothers Win 49er European Title". World Sailing. 6 September 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Luka and Leonchuk Win The Gold". World Sailing. 4 September 2005. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Vela, domani a Loano la presentazione della squadra olimpica: Sensini a caccia della quinta medaglia" [The Olympic sailing team will be announced tomorrow in Loano, with Sensini chasing for her fifth medal]. www.genova24.it (in Italian). 22 May 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Mixed 49er Class". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  7. ^ "Event Guide: Skiff – 49er". World Sailing. 8 August 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  8. ^ "49er Reports". World Sailing. 12 July 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  9. ^ "Vela: Scelti i primi 10 atleti delle barche olimpiche" [Sailing: The Italian team selects the first ten sailors for the Olympics] (in Italian). Italian National Olympic Committee. 30 October 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  10. ^ "Morrison and Rhodes Hot On Day One For 49ers". World Sailing. 10 August 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Danish Sailors Take Strong Lead Into 49er Medal Race". World Sailing. 16 August 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  12. ^ "Incredible 49er Medal Race But Results Subject To Jury Hearing". World Sailing. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  13. ^ "Beijing 2008: Open 49er Class". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  14. ^ "Pietro Sibello deve rinunciare a Londra 2012" [Pietro Sibello renounces London 2012]. www.primocanale.it/ (in Italian). 25 June 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  15. ^ "Londra 2012: Il TAS respinge il ricorso di Sibello" [London 2012: TAS rejects Sibello's appeal] (in Italian). Italian National Olympic Committee. 6 July 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2020.