Torben Grael
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| Olympic medalist | |||
 Torben Grael |
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| Medal record | |||
| Men's Sailing | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver | 1984 Los Angeles | Soling class | |
| Bronze | 1988 Seoul | Star class | |
| Gold | 1996 Atlanta | Star class | |
| Bronze | 2000 Sydney | Star class | |
| Gold | 2004 Athens | Star class | |
Torben Schmidt Grael (born July 22, 1960 in São Paulo of Danish heritage [1]) is one of the most important Brazilian sailors, renowned in international competitions. A descendant of Danes, he was taken sailing by his grandfather at five years old on the sailboat Ailen, of the extinct 6 meter class, which was the boat used by the silver medal winning 1912 Summer Olympics Danish sailing team. Once he moved to Niterói, he started sailing with his brother, Lars Grael, also an Olympic medal winner, on the Bay of Guanabara.
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[edit] Record
Nicknamed Turbine for his fame in conducting sailboats, he collected five Olympic medals, four of them in the Star class.
He is the Brazilian with the highest number of Olympic medals, and holds the highest number of Olympic medals in sailing, although Paul Elvstrøm has four gold medals (winning them consecutively from 1948 through 1960), and is Grael's own role-model. He also placed first place in many World, South American and Brazilian championships in several categories. His first-mate is usually Marcelo Ferreira. Grael has also sailed in other international competitions including the Volvo Ocean Race of 2005–2006 as skipper of the Brasil 1 team. He has sailed in several America's Cup races, including the 2007 event as tactician aboard Luna Rossa Challenge.
[edit] Results
[edit] International
| Year | Event | Venue | Class | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | World Championships | San Diego, CA, U.S. | Snipe Jr. | 1st |
| 1980 | Sailing Olympic Week | Cork, Ireland | Soling | 1st |
| 1981 | North-American Championship | Sarnia, Ontario, Canada | Soling | 1st |
| 1983 | IX Pan American Games | Caracas, Venezuela | Soling | 1st |
| World Championships | Porto, Portugal | Snipe | 1st | |
| 1984 | Sailing Olympic Week | San Remo, Italy | Soling | 1st |
| Mediterranean Championship | San Remo, Italy | Soling | 1st | |
| XXIII Olympic Games | Los Angeles, U.S. | Soling | 2nd | |
| 1985 | World Championships | Sarnia, Ontario, Canada | Soling | 2nd |
| 1987 | X Pan American Games | Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | Soling | 3rd |
| World Championships | La Rochelle, France | Snipe | 1st | |
| 1988 | XXIV Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | Star | 3rd |
| 1989 | European Championship | Travemünde, Lübeck, SH, Germany | Star | 1st |
| World Championships | Karatsu, Saga, Japan | Snipe | 2nd | |
| 1990 | World Championships | Cleveland, U.S. | Star | 1st |
| European Championship | Lake Balaton, Hungary | Star | 1st | |
| Sailing Olympic Week | Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany | Star | 1st | |
| 1991 | World Championships | Cannes, France | Star | 2nd |
| World Championships | Newport, Wales, United Kingdom | One Ton | 2nd | |
| World Championships | Porto Carras, Greece | 3⁄4 Ton | 3rd | |
| European Championship | Palermo, Italy | Star | 1st |
