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15 May 2024

Nacra 17 World Championship 2024: Tita Banti and...our new wetsuits!

The Nacra 17 World Championship in La Grande Motte marked another exciting victory for Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti, who claimed their fourth world gold, and the undisputed success of the new SLAM wetsuits, worn by the athletes for the regattas.

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Gold after gold: the Tita-Banti duo are now four-time world champions in the Olympic Nacra 17 class

Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti continue to make sailing history, winning their third consecutive world title, their fourth in total since 2018, in the trailblazing Nacra 17 “mixed multihull” foil class. The Italian crew were unstoppable on the French waters of La Grande Motte, where the Nacra 17 World Championship took place, winning by a significant margin in variable winds shifting constantly from strong to light. Once again, their unmatched skill confirmed their place among the best sailors in the world.

At the historic La Grande Motte, which also hosted the Mediterranean Games back in 1993, Italy celebrated not only Tita and Banti’s gold but also the young Italian crew Ugolini-Giubilei, who came in third.

  • ©Didier Hillaire

SLAM Wetsuits: maximum freedom of movement means maximum performance

Never have sailors had to move so intensely, so extremely, non-stop, as in the Nacra 17 class, their bodies forced to extend, squat, lunging to the side, keeping up with sudden transitions from one hull to the other.

Never has there been a more ideal class in which to test and implement the brand-new SLAM wetsuits.

A project we shared with Ruggero and Caterina, who tested the TOP WETSUIT and LONG JOHN WETSUIT across many a training session and during the Princesa Sofia Trophy in Palma de Mallorca (where, of course, they also won the gold medal), providing us with precious feedback on how both products perform on the water, feedback we can channel straight back into optimising design and production.

SLAM's wetsuits are more than just an effective defence against the cold and the sun, they act as a true second skin that will protect you with reinforcements added to the areas subjected to the greatest amount of stress, allowing for maximum freedom of movement.

The Tita-Banti duo at La Grande Motte wore 1.5 mm thick stretch neoprene long johns and bodysuits, test models that will soon be available to the public.

The 'Top and Long John Wetsuits' are made using an outer fabric that is abrasion and cut-resistant, to ensure greater strength in the areas that undergo the greatest wear, such as knees, shins and seat. On the inside of the knee there is also protective padding, which increases the thickness by up to 3-3.5 mm.

Both suits are zipperless and made with flatlock seams, which are ideal for elastic fabrics and avoid the possibility of skin abrasions. The long john wetsuit also features a front opening on the crotch.

Coming soon!

Starting next year, our wetsuits will be available for purchase on our online store, in SLAM shops near you and at all authorised dealers.

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