For the first time, Italian sailing joins the Hall of Fame of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), with Alessandra Sensini and Valentin Mankin.  This is what emerged during the yearly ISAF meetings, currently taking place in Sanya, China. The ISAF Hall of Fame was instituted in 2007 to celebrate the Federation's centenary.

To the first six athletes nominated eight years ago (Olin Stephens - USA, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and Dame Ellen Macarthur - GBR, Paul Elvström - DEN, Barbara Kendall – NZL ed Eric Tabarly – FRA), ISAF decided to add another seven wind champions and amongst these are Alessandra Sensini, sailor-woman with the most Olympic awards, with four medals (one gold, one silver and two bronze), currently member of the Board of CONI, as well as Coach for the youth of the Italian Sailing Federation (FIV) and vice Coach of the Olympic Team. Together with the Italian Olympic champion, there will be the great Valentin Mankin, Ukrainian by birth and Italian by adoption, three golds and one silver medal at the Olympic Games, as well as an extraordinary career as a coach and being an inimitable reference point for entire generations of Italian sailors, up to his death, in June 2014.

The other five outstanding sailing champions are Dennis Conner, Harold Vanderbilt and Buddy Melges from the United States, Sir Peter Blake from New Zealand and Torben Grael from Brazil. "I want to thank all people in attendance, because for me it is an honour to be here today. A few years ago I received the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award and it was incredible, and now joining the Hall of Fame is something totally unexpected", declared Alessandra Sensini during the introduction ceremony. "I would like to thank in particular ISAF President Carlo Croce, because, as soon as I ended my competitive training, he allowed me to support and promote the youth training, which I care a lot for, thanks to an important role I was given within the Italian Sailing Federation. I hope, in this regard, to be a source of inspiration for the new generations and to manage to transmit to the youth all my knowledge of sailing".