An elite level runner since his youth, Franco has been a national talent for the past decade beginning as a middle-distance star in his teens with podium finishes at Swiss nationals, a 4th place finish in the 3000m at the 2013 European Youth Olympics and more recently a string of top performances at international meets in 2021-22. 

Franco has always loved sports and especially the competitive element. As a kid, he loved to compete against his older brother Luca, also an international level runner, in all sorts of activities including tennis and handball. It was running where Franco stood out the most.

But injury setbacks paused his upward trajectory. “If you can name the bone, I’ve probably broken it,” says Franco. The unlucky string of stress fractures in different parts of his body sidelined him for a good part of nearly seven years from 2013-2019. In 2021, Franco was back to 100% including a third place at the Swiss National Championships and had a consistent series of good results. He considered giving it a go for the 2024 Paris Games, but another stress fracture in January 2023 was the end of the road. 

Franco heard about the Alinghi Red Bull Racing opportunity through a friend that had been evaluated for a role with the power group. He came to Barcelona for some time trial testing in 2023 before being officially named to the sailing team in January 2024. He is the only Power Group member who was originally an elite level runner, compared to the group of rowers and cyclists that make up the rest.

Franco has not been much of a sailor, just the odd Optimist course for a day here and there out of Neuchâtel. Outside of his medical studies, running and recent addition to the Alinghi Red Bull Racing team, Franco enjoys sports marketing and management, as well as working with sports and health tech start-ups.  He has about 1.5 years left for his degree at the university in Bern to become a doctor which is on pause for the next year.