Enrique Figueroa Suárez (born February 25, 1964), also known as "Quique Figueroa", is a Puerto Rican sailor. Figueroa is the only sailor of Puerto Rico to win four gold medals in the Central American-

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Games. He has also competed at four Olympic Games between

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

.Puerto Rico Herald
/ref> In 1999, Figueroa and his wife Carla Malatrasi won a gold medal in sailing in the Pan Am Hobie competition celebrated in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. On March 3, 2003 the Senate of Puerto Rico honored Enrique Figueroa and his wife Carla Malatrasi by recognizing their achievements.

Early years

He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he was raised and where he went to school receiving his primary and secondary education. He first became interested and participated in sailing when he was ten years old. In 1980, when he was sixteen, he participated in his first competition, the 3rd " Hobie 16 worlds" celebrated in

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where he came in 3rd place. The following year (1981), he participated in the 6th Hobie Fourteen Worlds in

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where he came first. Enrique Figueroa takes both 1st and 2nd place in Beachcats Class at Rolex.
/ref> In 1984, Figueroa was in the 7th Hobie 14 Worlds celebrated in Puerto Azul, Philippines and came 3rd; in the same year, he enrolled the Universidad del Sagrado Corazon ( Sacred Heart University) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he majored in Business Marketing.

Competitions

Among the other competitions in which Figueroa has participated are: * In 1985, Hobie 14 Worlds in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico where he won 1st place and * In 1986, 6th Hobie 16 Worlds in

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where he took 2nd place.Past Champions
In 1994, Figueroa won the IYRU World Sailing Championship title. He met and married Carla Malatrasi, a sportswoman from Puerto Rico who also loves sailing. In 1999, Figueroa and his wife Malatrasi won a gold medal in sailing in the Pan Am Hobie competition celebrated in Winnipeg, Canada. Figueroa competed in the

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

held in

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without his wife. She stayed behind to give birth to the first of their two daughters, Isabella Victoria. In 2002, Figueroa and his wife came in 3rd place in the Hobie Racing-ISAF Sailing Games H-16 which took place in

Marseille, France Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern France ...

in which they went against 36 teams representing 20 nations. On February 2, 2004, Figueroa and teammate Jorge Hernández, won the

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; they were named champions by beating twenty-nine entries in the tornado fleet. The

regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

winners had their sights set on the

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

and Partalympic Games in

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. 503 sailors participated with a fleet of 323 boats representing 39 nations. Figueroa went to the

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

and represented Puerto Rico at the Olympics for the fourth time.

Honors and recognitions

On March 3, 2003 the Senate of Puerto Rico honored Enrique Figueroa and his wife Carla Malatrasi by recognizing their achievements. Figueroa has been named "Puerto Rican National Sportsman of the Year" in sailing for 10 consecutive years.Athens Olympics 2004
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Notes

References

External links