Nicholas Charles Dempsey (born 13 August 1980 in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

) is a British

windsurfer Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

, who lives in

Poole, Dorset Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council ...

. He became the first man to win three Olympics medals in windsurfing when he won silver in the

2016 Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

, adding to a silver won in the

2012 London 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 ...

, and a bronze from the

2004 Athens 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), ...

. He is also twice world champion, winning gold in 2009 and 2013.

Career

Dempsey booked his first international success at the 1998 Mistral Youth World Championships, where he won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

. As a senior his first win was clinched at the North Sea Cup Series in

Pevensey Bay Pevensey ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The main village is located north-east of Eastbourne, one mile (1.6 km) inland from Pevensey Bay. The settlement of Pevensey Bay forms part of ...

, and an additional third place in the

Kieler Woche The Kiel Week (german: Kieler Woche) or Kiel Regatta is an annual sailing event in Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the largest sailing event in Europe, and also one of the largest Volksfeste in Germany, attracting m ...

. During the

2000 Summer Olympics 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 ...

he finished in 16th position. He continued winning competitions in 2001 and beyond like Athens Eurolymp Week, Kieler Woche and the SPA Regatta before finishing third at the

2004 Summer 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), ...

to take the windsurfing bronze medal. When switching to the RS:X class he won race after race, resulting in the first spot on the RS:X world rankings. He took the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

at the 2006 RS:X European Championships. At the 2006 RS:X World Championships he finished in 5th position. At the

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 ...

he came 4th in the RS:X Class windsurfing class with 60 points. He was 2 points behind Israeli bronze medalist

Shahar Zubari Shahar Tzuberi (or Zubari, he, שחר צוברי; born September 1, 1986) is an Israeli windsurfer and Olympic bronze medalist, surfing in the "Neil Pryde" RS:X discipline. He is a nephew of Gad Tsobari, the 1972 Olympic wrestler who escaped fr ...

. 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 ...

, Dempsey won the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

in the RS:X Class windsurfing class, behind

Dorian van Rijsselberge Dorian van Rijsselberghe (born 24 November 1988, in Den Burg) is a sailor (windsurfer) from the Netherlands. He won his first Dutch title when he was 13. Van Rijsselberghe on the Dutch RS:X won the gold medals at the 2012 Olympics in Weymou ...

of the Netherlands. In 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 ...

, Dempsey again won the silver in the RS:X Class, again behind van Rijsselberge. With three medals won in the Olympics, he became the most decorated men's Olympic windsurfer.

Personal life

Dempsey married yachtswoman

Sarah Ayton Sarah Lianne Ayton (born 9 April 1980 in Ashford, Surrey) is an English former professional sailor. She won a gold medal in the Yngling sailing class in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, together with Shirley Robertson and Sarah Webb, and ...

in October 2008 just two months after she won a gold medal at the

2008 Beijing 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 Nat ...

. In June 2009, they had a son, Thomas-Flynn, and another son Oscar in March 2012. The couple broke up in late 2012. Dempsey has an interest in photography.

Achievements

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dempsey, Nick 1980 births Living people English windsurfers English male sailors (sport) Olympic sailors of Great Britain British male sailors (sport) Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Sailors at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Mistral One Design Sailors at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Mistral One Design Sailors at the 2008 Summer Olympics – RS:X Sailors at the 2012 Summer Olympics – RS:X Sailors at the 2016 Summer Olympics – RS:X Sportspeople from Norwich Olympic medalists in sailing Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics RS:X class world champions Sportspeople from Weymouth