Emilia Tsoulfa

Emilia Tsoulfa, 2015

Emilia Tsoulfa ( Greek Αιμιλία Τσουλφά Aimilia Tsoulfa , born May 15, 1973 in Athens ) is a Greek sailor. With her long-time sailing partner Sofia Bekatorou she became four-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist in the boat class of 470 dinghies . Tsoulfa is - together with Bekatorou - two-time winner of the prestigious award Weltseglerin of the year ( ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year ) of the International Sailing Federation (2002 and 2004).

Tsoulfa has withdrawn from sailing, at least temporarily, since she had a child in 2006.

Tsoulfa sailed for the Piraeus Sailing Club (Greece).

Life

Emilia Tsoulfa grew up in Athens. She studied sports in Athens and then worked as a sports teacher or sports lecturer. Her brother Theodoros Tsoulfas (partly Theodore Tsoulfas, Greek Θεόδωρος Τσουλφάς) is also a successful sailor, who competed in the 470 dinghy class in the mid-1990s and now in the Star class; However, his successes have not yet reached the outstanding world class level of his sister.

Because of her Olympic gold medal in 2004, Tsoulfa was awarded the rank of lieutenant in the Greek army . All Greek athletes who achieve a sixth or better place at the Olympic Games are promoted to this rank; the athletes are not used for military service, but receive a salary from the Greek state through the award. In addition, in 2005, EFG Eurobank Ergasias became a sponsor of Tsoulfa and her sailing partner Bekatorou.

In 2005 Tsoulfa took part in the Grecotel dream race proposed and organized by Bekatorou on the Greek island of Mykonos . The event from 14th to 17th August 2005 served to promote and support sailing on Mykonos and provided three young sailors from the island with a grant and a boat each. Four Greek and four international groups participated in the event. In addition to Bekatorou, Tsoulfa and their brother Theodoros Tsoulfa, the entry lists also included several participants in the America's Cup .

Tsoulfa lives in Athens, in 2006 her first child - a daughter - was born. Emilia Tsoulfa speaks English and French in addition to her Greek mother tongue.

Sailing career

At the age of twelve, Tsoulfa began sailing on an optimist . At the age of 13 she took part in her first regatta , the Greek Optimist Championship, in this boat class . Two years later, she became Greek champion in the boat class of 420 dinghies in 1988 , a title that she defended in the two following years.

When Tsoulfa turned to the boat class of 470 dinghies, she was eight times Greek champion with these boats from 1994. Two years later, Tsoulfa took part with Katerina Kaloudi at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and finished seventeenth.

Tsoulfa celebrated her great successes as a Greek champion and at international regattas as a sailboat (i.e. responsible for the foresail ) with her compatriot Sofia Bekatorou . In 1998 the two won the bronze medal at the European and World Championships. They finished 14th at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney (Australia), but in the same year they began a series of victories that is unprecedented in the 470 class: Tsoulfa and Bekatorou became four-time world champions in a row (2000-2003) and three-time European champions ( 2000–2002) in a row.

Less than 100 days after Bekatorou's training interruption due to health reasons, Tsoulfa and Bekatorou took part in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens . With victories in five individual races and a large point advantage, the two did not even have to compete in the last (eleventh) individual race and won the gold medal with a 24 point lead. Overnight they became heroines in their hometown of Athens, and at the end of the Games they were honored with the privilege of putting out the Olympic flame. As for other Greek gold medalists, a postage stamp with her picture (Tsoulfa and Bekatorou together) was also issued; in addition, Tsoulfa was one of the medalists in 2005 and one of the bearers of the Olympic flame for the 2006 Winter Olympics , which brought her to the Greek ski resort of Velouchi on Mount Tymfristos .

In 2002 and 2004, Tsoulfa and Bekatorou were jointly named World Sailor of the Year (since 2001: ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards ) for their sailing achievements . They were nominated for the award in 2001.

Tsoulfa retired from sailing because of the birth of her child and will therefore not take part in the 2008 Olympic Games. She has not yet decided whether she wants to end her career for good.

Web links

• Portrait nominees for the award World Sailor of the Year in 2004 in the pages of the International Sailing Federation (Engl.)
• Picture of the victory celebration directly after winning the Olympic Games ( Memento from August 30, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) (on her boat that was intentionally overturned )
• Gold Medal in Athens 2004 ( English ) Association of Hellenic Olympic Winners. Archived from the original on April 14, 2008. Retrieved March 26, 2019.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Information about the Grecotel Dream Race. ( Memento of September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) mykonos.gr (Greek; accessed on November 23, 2014)

Note

The original version of this article, dated March 2, 2007, is based on information from the International Sailing Federation about the nominees for the 2004 World Sailing Award and from the Association of Hellenic Olympic Winners .