The Optimist, also known as the ‘opti’, or 'oppie', is a small, single-handed sailing dinghy intended for use by children and teenagers up to the age of 15. Contemporary boats are usually made of fibreglass, although wooden boats are still built.
Sir Charles Benedict Ainslie CBE is a British competitive sailor. Ainslie is the most successful sailor in Olympic history. He won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at the four consecutive Games held between 2000 and 2012.
The International 420 Dinghy is a sailing dinghy popular for racing and teaching. The hull is fiberglass with internal buoyancy tanks. The 420 has a bermuda rig and an optional spinnaker and trapeze. It has a large sail-area-to-weight ratio, and is designed to plane easily. It can be rigged to be sailed single-handed or double-handed. The 420 is an International class recognized by World Sailing. The name refers to the boat's length of 420 centimetres.
Panagiotis Giannakis, alternatively spelled Panayiotis Yiannakis or Yannakis, is a retired Greek professional basketball player and coach. As a player, he was primarily a point guard, but he could also play at the shooting guard position. During his playing career, Giannakis was also widely-known under his nickname of "O Drákos", or "The Dragon" in English.
Robert Scheidt is a Brazilian sailor, who has won two gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze from five Olympic Games and a Star Sailors League Final. He is one of the most successful sailors at Olympic Games and one of the most successful Brazilian Olympic athletes, being one of only two to earn five medals along with fellow sailor Torben Grael, and the only Brazilian sailor to win medals in both dinghy and keelboat classes.
Fernando Echávarri Erasun is a professional yachtsman in the Olympic Tornado Class. Teaming with crew Antón Paz Blanco, he became the Spanish, European, World Champion, ISAF Sailor of the year in 2005, Olympic gold medallist at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games held in Qingdao.
Burghfield Sailing Club is an inland sailing club located close to the town of Theale in Berkshire near Reading in the south of England. The club and lake are easily seen from the M4 motorway as the westbound lane approaches Junction 12. BSC was one of the first Clubs in the UK to be awarded RYA Champion Club status.
Christos Volikakis is a Greek track cyclist. He was the leader of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics 2011–2012 in Keirin.
Xu Lijia is a Chinese sailboat racer who won a bronze medal in women's Laser Radial class at the 2008 Summer Olympics and a gold medal in the same event at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where she was the flag bearer for China at the closing ceremony.
Ioannis Tamouridis is a Greek former professional cyclist from Thessaloniki, Greece. He started cycling in 1995 and he competed in Road and Track races.
Chris Draper is a British sailor who has won multiple World and European championships and a bronze medal at the Sailing at the 2004 Olympic competing in the mixed 49er. He has been a winner of the Extreme Sailing Series and was helmsman for Luna Rossa, Italy's Americas cup challenger 2011 to 2015. In the 34th Americas cup he became the first Britain to helm in the Louis Vuitton cup final. For the ACWS & 35th Americas Cup between 2015 and the Cup event in Bermuda in June 2017 he held the position of Sailing Team Manager / Tactician and Wing trimmer for Softbank Team Japan.
Peter Burling is a New Zealand sailor. He was the 2021 America's Cup winning skipper and helmsman, and the 2017 America's Cup winning helmsman of Team New Zealand, and won an Olympic gold medal in the 49er class at the 2016 games and silver medals in the 2012 and 2020 Olympics.
Mark Mendelblatt is an American yachtsman. Married to windsurfer Carolina Mendelblatt, he primarily sails the Laser radial, a one-design class of small single-handed sailing dinghy. Beginning in 2005, he also started to race in the two-person keelboat Star class.
Sari Multala is a Finnish Olympic sailor, politician and a member of Parliament of Finland.
Zafeiris Volikakis is a Greek track cyclist who represented Greece at the 2012 Summer Olympics, along with his brother Christos Volikakis.
Joanna Ayela Aleh is a New Zealand sailor. She is a national champion, a former world champion, and an Olympic gold medallist.
Francisco Lufinha, achieved several world records, namely the Fastest Atlantic Kiteboat Crossing (solo) in 2021 and the Longest Journey Kitesurfing in 2015. He is a completely passioned by nautical sportsman. Taken aboard a boat by his parents only 15 days after he was born, he was never able nor wanted to let go of the sea again.
Dan Froyliche is an Israeli Olympic sailor. He sails with Eyal Levin.
Dimitrios Kyteas is a retired Physical Education Professor and active Federal Coach. For many years he was Greek National and Balkan Champion in Pole Vault. He participated in European Championships, International Meetings and in Montreal Olympic Games as athlete and in London and Rio de Janeiro as coach.
