Robert Scheidt (born April 15, 1973) is a Brazilian sailor who has won two gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze from five Olympic Games and a Star Sailors League Final. He is one of the most successful sailors at Olympic Games and one of the most successful Brazilian Olympic athletes, being one of only two to earn five medals along with fellow sailor Torben Grael, and the only Brazilian sailor to win medals in both dinghy and keelboat classes.

Early career

Scheidt was born in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

to Fritz Scheidt and Karin Kreuger Scheidt, who were both of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

descent. His father gave him his first boat when he was nine, and Robert began practising in the Guarapiranga dam. With the help of Dudu Melchert, his coach, he began winning several competitions. At the age of 11, Scheidt became the South American Champion in the Optimist Class, in Algarrobo, Chile, in 1985 and again in 1986. Because of his wins, he was chosen to represent Brazil in the Optimist World Championship in 1986. This was the turning point of his career and made him decide to quit tennis and focus on sailing. Because his weight and height exceeded the Optimist recommendations, he began sailing in the Snipe Class, and was second at the 1989 Brazilian Snipe Junior Championship, and champion in 1990, 1991 and 1992. In 1990, he also began sailing in the

Lasers A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...

and became Brazilian junior champion and was called to represent Brazil in the Junior World Championships, held in

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. Following this championship, he trained in

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and Sweden and participated for the first time in the

Kiel Week 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 ...

( Kieler Woche). In 1991, he sailed a good and consistent regatta, won 10 out of the 11 races, and became Laser Junior World Champion in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Senior career

In 1995, he won the gold medal in the Pan American Games in Mar del Plata, and his first

World Championship 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, ...

. The following year, he graduated from the Mackenzie Presbyterian University in Business Administration. In this year, 1996, his greatest achievement: after a thrilling and controversial duel with Ben Ainslie (19, UK), he took the Olympic gold medal in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, in the Laser Class. He also won in 1996 the World Championship, held in

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South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

and again in 1997, in Algarrobo,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. In 1999, he won the gold medal in the Pan American Games, in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg (french: Lac Winnipeg, oj, ᐑᓂᐸᑲᒥᐠᓴᑯ˙ᑯᐣ, italics=no, Weenipagamiksaguygun) is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Its southern end is about north of t ...

, ahead of

Mark Mendelblatt Mark Mendelblatt (born February 19, 1973) is an American yachtsman. Married to windsurfer Carolina Mendelblatt (née Borges), he primarily sails the Laser Radial, a one-design class of small ( long, and ) single-handed sailing dinghy. Beginni ...

of the U.S. and Diego Romero of Argentina. In 2000, after his fourth World Title, in

Cancún Cancún ( ), often Cancun in English (without the accent; or ) is a city in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, there were high expectations that he would win gold in the Olympic Games, in Sydney. But along with the rest of the Brazilian delegation, he failed to win the medal and, after an amazing and controversial battle with

Ben Ainslie Sir Charles Benedict Ainslie (born 5 February 1977) is a British competitive sailor. Ainslie is the most successful sailor in Olympic history. He won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at the four consecutiv ...

, from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

, he took home the silver medal. His fifth world title came in 2001, in Cork,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and his sixth in 2002, in

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. In 2003, he became for the third time Pan American Games Champion, with gold in

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Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

. In 2004, he won the gold medal in the Laser Class in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Ainslie having moved up a weight division to the Finn Class, and won his 6th World Title in Bitez,

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, ahead of Mark Mendelblatt. In March 2005, he was ranked 1st in the world in the Laser, ahead of Paul Goodison of Great Britain, Michael Blackburn of Australia, and Mark Mendelblatt of the U.S. His last World Title came in 2005, when he was proclaimed champion in his birth country for the first time, in Fortaleza,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. After this win, he decided to leave the Laser class and focus on two-person racing

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

Star Class, along with Bruno Prada. In June 2006, he and Prada won the silver medal at the 2006 Kiel Week in Germany, behind Mark Mendelblatt and crewman Mark Strube. In August 2006, he and Prada won a silver medal at the Star European Championship against 93 boats in Neustadt, Germany, again behind Mendelblatt and Strube. He won nine titles since 2003, including the World Title in 2007, in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and a silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. With this podium, he also became the first Brazilian athlete to win a medal in four consecutive Olympic Games. His four medals put him, along with swimmer

Gustavo Borges Gustavo França Borges (born December 2, 1972) is a Brazilian former competitive swimmer. He swam for Brazil in the Summer Olympic Games in: 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004. Borges has won the second-most Olympic medals of any Brazilian, with fo ...

, behind only sailor Torben Grael as the Brazilian with the most Olympic medals. He was appointed as the Brazilian

flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

at the Beijing Olympic Games. In the 2012 Summer Olympics in

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, Scheidt won his fifth Olympic medal, a bronze at the Star. He tied Grael's record and also became the first Brazilian to win medals in five consecutive Olympics, though he wished to win the gold given that would be the last Olympics for the Star Class. To ensure another participation in the 2016 Summer Olympics hosted by Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, Scheidt returned to the Laser in 2013, right away winning the World Championship at the age of 40. In his sixth Olympics, for the first time Scheidt missed the Olympic podium, finishing fourth in spite of winning the medal race. He remained competing in the next Olympic cycle and managed to qualify for the

2020 Olympic Games The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

, becoming the first Brazilian to appear in seven Olympics. Despite reaching the medal race, Scheidt only finished eighth. He has declared that while he will continue sailing, it will not be in the Laser due to the boat's required physicality .

Personal life

On October 25, 2008, he married a Lithuanian sailor and Olympic silver medalist Gintarė Volungevičiūtė in the Town Hall of Kaunas, Lithuania. They have two sons and reside at Lago di Garda, Italy.

Main Titles

Robert Scheidt has already won 125 titles until May 2006, including 68 in Brazil and 57 abroad. His main achievements are: * Star Class: ** Olympic Games: Silver in Beijing, 2008 and Bronze in London, 2012 ** World Championship: *** 2007, 2011 (Perth, Australia), 2012 (Hyeres, France) ** Star Sailors League Finals *** 2013 (Nassau, Bahamas) ** Pre-Olympic: *** 2006 ** South American Championship: *** 2006 ** Brazilian Championship: *** 2006 * Laser Class ** Olympic Games: *** Gold in Atlanta, 1996 and Athens, 2004 *** Silver in Sydney, 2000 ** World Championships: *** Tenerife, Spain, 1995 *** Cape Town, South Africa, 1996 *** Algarrobo, Chile, 1997 *** Cancún, Mexico, 2000 *** Cork, Ireland, 2001 *** Cape Cod, USA, 2002 *** Bitez, Turkey, 2004 *** Fortaleza, Brazil, 2005 *** Muscat, Oman, 2013 ** World ISAF Games: *** Marseille, France, 1997 ** World Junior Championship: *** Scotland, 1991 ** Pan American Games: *** Mar del Plata, Argentina, 1995 *** Winnipeg, Canada, 1999 *** Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 2003 ** Europe Cup: *** 1993, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005 ** South American Championships: *** 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2004 ** Brazilian Championships: *** 1987 (junior), 1991 (junior), 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 ** Kiel Week: *** 1999, 2000, 2004 ** Spa Week: *** 1998, 2002 * Optimist Class: ** South American Championship (youth): *** 1985, 1986

References

External links

Robert Scheidt
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scheidt, Robert ISAF World Sailor of the Year (male) 1973 births Living people Sportspeople from São Paulo Brazilian male sailors (sport) Olympic sailors of Brazil Olympic gold medalists for Brazil Olympic silver medalists for Brazil Olympic bronze medalists for Brazil Olympic medalists in sailing Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Sailors at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Laser Sailors at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Laser Sailors at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Laser Sailors at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Star Sailors at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Star Pan American Games gold medalists for Brazil Pan American Games silver medalists for Brazil Sailors at the 1995 Pan American Games Sailors at the 1999 Pan American Games Sailors at the 2003 Pan American Games Sailors at the 2007 Pan American Games Sailors at the 2015 Pan American Games Snipe class sailors Star class world champions Brazilian people of German descent Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Sailors at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Laser Pan American Games medalists in sailing Laser class world champions World champions in sailing for Brazil Oath takers at the Olympic Games Mackenzie Presbyterian University alumni Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Sailors at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Laser