Even as a child, Alessandra Sensini dreamed of being an athlete and she excelled at numerous sports, including cross-country running, tennis, basketball and swimming. At the age of 13, thanks to her sisters Irene and Eleonora, she discovered windsurfing. It began as a hobby, but it did not take long for Alessandra’s competitive spirit to prevail. She began racing in the Youth Games and soon made her presence known, winning silver in 1983. In 1985, while still at school and only 15 years old, Alessandra won the Italian Junior Championships. She was immediately selected for the national team and windsurfing became her life. In 1994 she won the World Cup. Alessandra made her first appearance at the Olympics in Barcelona, coming in seventh place and then went on to take bronze in Atlanta. In 2000 she won the Olympic Gold in Sydney, followed by the bronze in Athens and then the silver in Beijing in 2008.

With 4 medals in 6 editions Alessandra is the most medal-winning in her field in Olympic history. In her career she has won 10 world titles, 5 European titles, 2 titles at the Mediterranean Games, one World Cup of the professional windsurfing circuit and 23 Italian titles. In 2009 she also stood as a candidate in the European Parliament elections, demonstrating that she knows how to look beyond the tip of her own board and is ready to be a leader for the community. Today Alessandra is Youth Technical Director and Deputy Technical Director of the National Team of the Italian Sailing Federation, member of the National Council of Coni (Italian National Olympic Committee), member of the Athletes Commission of the Council of Europe (COE) and member of the Olympic Games Commission of the COE.