Šime Fantela (born 19 January 1986) is a Croatian professional sailor. Competing in the 470 class with Igor Marenić, he won gold at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, the 2009 World Championships, and three European Championships (2009, 2011, 2012). At the 470 World Championships in 2009 in Rungsted, Fantela and Marenić became the first Croatians to win a gold medal at the ISAF World Championships.

Career

Early career

Fantela began sailing at the age of six. He competed in

Optimist World Championship Optimist World Championship are annual World Championship sailing regattas in the Optimist Optimism is an attitude reflecting a belief or hope that the outcome of some specific endeavor, or outcomes in general, will be positive, favorable, and ...

class winning bronze in 1998 and gold in 2000. After the early successes in Optimist, he switched to the

470 __NOTOC__ Year 470 ( CDLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Iordanes (or, less frequently, year 1223 '' ...

class with his colleague Igor Marenić. In six junior years in 470, they have won plenty of medals. They have become World Junior Champions on three occasions (2003, 2005 and 2007). They also won silver medal in 2006 and a bronze medal in 2004. At the European Junior Championships, they have won three medals; gold in 2005 and two silver medals (in 2002 and 2006). They won gold medal at the

2005 Summer Universiade The 2005 Summer Universiade, also known as the XXIII Summer Universiade, took place in İzmir, Turkey, in August. Emblem The emblem is the letter “U”, inspired by the bird's-eye view of the Gulf of İzmir. This shape has perfectly fit the lett ...

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. At their first

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fir ...

they finished 4th. Their first bigger success among the seniors came in 2006 when they finished fifth at the World Championships. One year later, at the 2007 World Championships they finished sixth and earned an Olympic quota place for

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

becoming the fourth Croatian crew to qualify for the Olympics in 470 class.

2008 Summer Olympics

Fantela and Marenić were selected to represent Croatia at the 2008 Summer Olympics. At the regatta held in Qingdao International Marina between 11 and 18 August, they have finished ninth overall among 29 crews with 107 net points. They have won tenth race and finished in top 10 on four other occasions. In the medal race, they claimed eight place. Overall, Fantela was pleased with their performance at the 2008 Olympics: "We were hoping for top 10 position and we reached it". At the time, ninth place have been the best Croatian result in 470 at the Olympics.

Senior Breakthrough (2009–2012)

After the post-Olympic break, Fantela and Marenić began their campaign towards

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. They won gold medal at the 2009 European Championships in Traunsee,

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. They have become the first European Champions in Olympic classes from Croatia since 1978. At the

2009 Mediterranean Games The 2009 Mediterranean Games, officially the XVI Mediterranean Games ( it, XVI Giochi del Mediterraneo) and commonly known as Pescara 2009, was a multi-sport event held in Pescara, Italy, from 26 June to 5 July 2009. It was governed by the Inte ...

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they won silver medal. Successes from 2009 were crowned at the 470 World Championships in Rungsted when Fantela and Marenić became first Croatian World Champions in Olympic sailing. In 2010, Fantela and Marenić went on to defend their World title. At the World Championships in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

they have won bronze medal though. They finished sixth at the European Championships in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. At the 2011 European Championships in

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, Fantela and Marenić regained European title in tight competition with British and Israeli crews.

2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships The 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships was held in Perth, Western Australia, this was the third edition of the ISAF Sailing World Championships. It is the world championships for all disciplines used at the upcoming Olympics. As it used to a ...

were held at the end of the year in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. Fantela and Marenić defended bronze medal from 2010 470 World Championships and secured an Olympic quota place for the

. At the 2012 Summer Olympics Fantela and Marenić finished in 6th place.

Acknowledgements

Order of Danica Hrvatska with face of Franjo Bučar: 2016 * City of Zadar Award: 2005, 2009, 2016, 2018

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fantela, Sime 1986 births Living people Croatian male sailors (sport) Olympic sailors for Croatia Optimist class world champions Sailors at the 2008 Summer Olympics – 470 Sailors at the 2012 Summer Olympics – 470 Sailors at the 2016 Summer Olympics – 470 Sportspeople from Zadar Olympic gold medalists for Croatia Olympic medalists in sailing Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Croatia Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Croatia Competitors at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 2013 Mediterranean Games Universiade medalists in sailing World champions in sailing for Croatia 470 class world champions Mediterranean Games medalists in sailing FISU World University Games gold medalists for Croatia Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade Sailors at the 2020 Summer Olympics – 49er Optimist class sailors