Ali Kemal Tüfekçi (born 8 September 1973) is a Turkish former sailor, who specialized in the

Laser 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'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

and Finn classes. He represented his country

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

in the single-handed boat at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, before switching to a heavyweight version on his second trip to

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

. Tüfekçi trained throughout his sporting career for Istanbul Sailing Club (). Tüfekçi made his Olympic debut in Sydney 2000, sailing in the

class. There, he accumulated a net grade of 254 points to take a lowly thirty-fourth overall spot out of 43 entrants at the end of the eleven-race series. Tüfekçi sought to bid for his second consecutive trip to the Games in

Athens 2004 Athens 2004 may refer to: * 2004 Summer Olympics * 2004 Summer Paralympics The 2004 Summer Paralympics (), the 12th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the Internati ...

, but he lost to the newcomer and eventual two-time Olympian Kemal Muslubaş based on the federation's selection criteria. Eight years after his maiden Games, Tüfekçi gained some weight and thereby moved to the larger Finn class for the

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

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. Building up to his Olympic selection, he finished thirty-ninth overall out of 50 sailors in the golden fleet to secure the last of six quota spots available at the Finn Gold Cup nearly seven months earlier in

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. Coming from behind of the fleet with scores lower than the tenth position, Tüfekçi charged his way to the left for a credible top-six mark on the seventh leg. Tüfekçi's best result, however, was not enough to put him through to the medal race, sitting him in the twentieth overall spot with 107 net points.

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* * * * 1973 births Living people Turkish male sailors (sport) Olympic sailors for Turkey Sailors at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Laser Sailors at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Finn Sportspeople from Rize {{Turkey-yachtracing-bio-stub