Roland Gäbler (born October 9, 1964 in Bremen) is a German sailor and member in the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein [1] as well as in the Kieler Yacht-Club. He competed in five Olympic Games.
Gäbler grew up in Bremen, where he started sailing on the river Weser. His talent for sailing was advanced by his parents, who bought him an old Laser. At the age of 14 he competed in his first regatta, one year later he won his first sailing competition. During his career, Gäbler won two European championships and 14 international Laser championships.
With 23 years Gäbler switched the racing class to catamaran and sailed a Tornado, together with his Laser training partner Hans-Jürgen Pfohe. Both competed in the Kiel Week [2] and qualified straightaway for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, however they won no medal. During the rough regatta Gäbler suffered a fracture of his hand.
Job reasons forced Hans-Jürgen Pfohe to quit sailing in 1989. Frank Parlow became Gäblers new partner. The team won four European Tornado championships and the world championship in 1996 for the first time. But also the cooperation with Parlow was not fruitful: neither at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona (position 11) nor at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta (position 7) they could win a medal.
In 1997 René Schwall became bowman and team partner of Gäbler. They won two further world championships and three European championships as well as a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. [2] In 2001 Gäbler became German head coach of the Deutscher Segler-Verband for the Tornado and 49er class. [3]
Together with Gunnar Struckmann as bowman Gäbler won the German championship, the Volvo Champions Race[4] and the Kiel Week 2005 - Gäblers fifth success in this competition. [2]
Since 2009 Roland Gäbler has been sailing with his wife Nahid Gäbler. They straightaway won the Travemünde Week and the German championship 2009. In 2010 they won the world championship in Tornado sailing - as first mixed team ever. [5][6]
Gäbler together with the adventurer and balloonist Steve Fossett also established a world record in high-speed sailing on the catamaran Playstation (34m length). [7]
In 1995 and 1997 Gäbler was awarded the title German Sailor of the Year as well as two times the award Silbernes Lorbeerblatt.[8]