Date of birth: 23 December 1987
Place of birth: Lisbon, Portugal
Born into a sailing family in Portugal, Mariana Lobato began sailing at the age of eight and went on to race her first European Championship in the singlehanded under-16 Optimist class. Having worked her way up through larger dinghy classes like the Snipe and 420, and into Olympic classes like the 470, 49erFX, and Nacra 17, Lobato specialised in match racing – a discipline in which – sailing with Rita Gonçalves and Diana Neves – she represented her country at the London 2012 Olympic Games before going on to win the women’s match racing world title in 2013.
Since then she has been a regular face on racing GC32 and M32 catamarans and on the larger Ocean Fifty trimaran regatta circuit. As a qualified paramedic, Mariana was a member of the Portuguese Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team which was victorious in the VO65 class in the inaugural staging of The Ocean Race Europe in 2021.
Two years later, in 2023, Lobato took on her first around-the-world edition of The Ocean Race aboard the IMOCA Biotherm. Returning to The Ocean Race Europe in 2025, she joined skipper Yoann Richomme and the Paprec Arkéa team, securing a strong second-place finish.
This year, she will join Paul Meilhat as co-skipper for The Ocean Race Atlantic 2026, with her sights set on competing in the next around-the-world edition in 2027.
A mother of three married to professional sailor António Fontes, Mariana trains CrossFit five days a week to stay race-ready - proving that managing top-tier sailing alongside family life is a challenge she thrives on.
Sailing highlights
- 2nd in The Ocean Race Europe 2025 with Yoann Richomme onboard Paprec Arkéa
- 4th on The Ocean Race 2023 with Paul Meilhat
- 2nd Pro Sailing Tour (Ocean50) in 2022
- Winner of The Ocean Race Europe 2021 with Yoann Richomme onboard the VO65 Mirpuri Foundation
- 2013 World Match Racing Champion
- 2012 London Olympic Games
