Charline Picon (born 23 December 1984) is a French windsurfer who specialized in the Neil Pryde RS:X class. She captured two bronze medals in her respective class at the

Windsurfing World Championships The Windsurfing World Championships is an international sailing competition organized by World Sailing held since 1980, now annually. Men Mistral Class RS:X Class Women Mistral Class RS:X Class See also *Sailing World Championships *List ...

(2009 and 2010), and an Olympic title 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 ...

after attaining a top ten finish at the

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 ...

. As of September 2014, Picon is ranked as one of the top ten sailors in the world for the sailboard class by the

International Sailing Federation International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, following her successes at the European and World Championships and at the Sailing World Cup series. Picon competed in the women's RS:X class at the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

by finishing eighth and receiving a berth from the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

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. Having awarded a guaranteed slot in the medal race from the opening series, Picon sailed through the final stretch to edge out Italian windsurfer and 2000 Olympic champion

Alessandra Sensini Alessandra Sensini (born 26 January 1970 in Grosseto) is an Italian windsurfing, windsurfer. She is a 4-time Olympian, winning a gold medal and three additional medals. She also won 3 gold, 2 silver medals and 1 bronze at World Championships, a ...

and Canada's top favorite

Nikola Girke Nikola Girke (born December 30, 1977, in Grande Prairie, Alberta) is a Canadian sailor and a five-time Olympian. She is amongst only a few elite athletes who have made the transition from one sport to another and has achieved a top 10 in the wor ...

for an eighth spot in a net score of 89 points. At the

2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships The 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships, was held in Santander, Spain, this was the fourth edition of the ISAF Sailing World Championships. It is the world championships for all disciplines used at the upcoming Olympics. What gives this event gr ...

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, Picon sailed against an immense fleet of windsurfers to pick up a gold medal in the women's RS:X class, accumulating a net score of 27 points, and securing a spot on the French squad to compete for her second Olympics. Picon took up windsurfing aged 11. She is a

physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...

by education. Until 2006 she competed in the Aloha and

Mistral Mistral may refer to: * Mistral (wind) in southern France and Sardinia Automobiles * Maserati Mistral, a Maserati grand tourer produced from 1963 until 1970 * Nissan Mistral, or Terrano II, a Nissan 4×4 produced from 1993 until 2006 * Microp ...

classes, and only later changed to RS:X. During the 2008–09 season she had a shoulder surgery and returned to competitions in September 2009.

References

External links

* * * * * * * 1984 births Living people French windsurfers Female windsurfers Olympic sailors for France French female sailors (sport) Sailors at the 2012 Summer Olympics – RS:X Sailors at the 2016 Summer Olympics – RS:X Sailors at the 2020 Summer Olympics – RS:X People from Royan Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for France Olympic silver medalists for France Olympic medalists in sailing Sportspeople from Charente-Maritime RS:X class world champions {{France-yachtracing-bio-stub