Renato Cosentino

As a child, Renato Cosentino learned to sail on his father’s 6-metre boat in the Gulf of Napoli. He gained experience as a helmsman on all types of vessels, from dinghies to eight-metre boats. He was also well-known as a sailmaker.

Cosentino did not win much at national level but did finish fifth in the 1934 Italian Dinghy Championship, won by his fellow Neapolitan Postiglione. When crews were assembled for the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the Italian coach Pasquale De Conciliis (also a Neapolitan) selected Cosentino as a crew member of “Esperia,” in the 6-metre class.

On the waters at Kiel, despite the experience of the Oberti brothers, the Italian boat had mixed fortunes and ultimately finished the competition in fifth place ahead of the fancied German, Dutch and USA crews. After the Olympics Cosentino continued to race for years, enjoying success in various classes, including dinghies. In 1938, he was aboard “Bona,” which sensationally won the “Coupe de France” from the hosts. Ten years later, in 1948, Costantino made his second Olympic appearance aboard the six-meter “Ciocca II.” The crew finished eighth as Cosentino became one of the few Italian sailors to have participated in consecutive Olympic Games, 12 years apart.