Florian Trittel still remembers the moment sailing stopped being a hobby and became something closer to an identity.
"Sailing is more than just a job. It's my passion and the place I experience the most freedom I have ever felt." That's how the Los Gallos wing trimmer describes a sport that, for him, has never simply been about winning races. It's about the freedom of open water, the challenge of mastering the elements and the satisfaction that comes from getting the result right.
He's 32 now, with an Olympic gold medal and a SailGP Championship title already to his name.
The story behind those achievements starts a long way from the podium: in family, in sacrifice, and in a love of the sea that took hold well before the trophies arrived.
Trittel was six when sailing first got hold of him, inspired by family whose connection to the sport stretched back generations. It wasn't long before his brothers caught the bug too.
Learning to "use the elements of the wind and sea in your favour" became central to that early passion, as he puts it.
His first "windy Optimist regatta" in L'Escala tested him badly. As the breeze built, he struggled to keep control of the boat.
That day didn't put him off. If anything, it reset his relationship with the conditions.
What had been fear turned into respect, the kind that shapes a sailor rather than scares one off.
